Slider of thin-film magnetic head

ABSTRACT

A slider comprises a slider section and an element section. The slider section has a first medium facing surface and an air inflow end. The element section has a second medium facing surface, an air outflow end, and a thin-film magnetic head element. The slider section and the element section are produced separately, and bonded to each other so that the air inflow end and the air outflow end are disposed on opposite sides with the first and second medium facing surfaces in between.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention relates to a slider of a thin-film magnetichead which comprises a medium facing surface that faces toward arecording medium and a thin-film magnetic head element located near themedium facing surface, and to a method of manufacturing such a slider.

[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art

[0004] Performance improvements in thin-film magnetic heads have beensought as a real recording density of hard disk drives has increased.Such thin-film magnetic heads include composite thin-film magnetic headsthat have been widely used. A composite head is made of a layeredstructure including a recording head having an induction-typeelectromagnetic transducer for writing and a reproducing head having amagnetoresistive element (that may be hereinafter called an MR element)for reading. MR elements include an anisotropic magnetoresistive (AMR)element that utilizes the AMR effect and a giant magnetoresistive (GMR)element that utilizes the GMR effect. A reproducing head using an AMRelement is called an AMR head or simply an MR head. A reproducing headusing a GMR element is called a GMR head. An AMR head is used as areproducing head where a real recording density is more than 1 gigabitper square inch. A GMR head is used as a reproducing head where a realrecording density is more than 3 gigabits per square inch. It is GMRheads that have been most widely used recently.

[0005] Performance of the reproducing head is improved by replacing theAMR film with a GMR film and the like having an excellentmagnetoresistive sensitivity. Alternatively, a pattern width such as thereproducing track width and the MR height, in particular, may beoptimized. The MR height is the length (height) between an end of the MRelement located in the air bearing surface and the other end. The airbearing surface is a surface of the thin-film magnetic head facingtoward a magnetic recording medium.

[0006] Performance improvements in a recording head are also required asthe performance of a reproducing head is improved. It is required toincrease the recording track density in order to increase the a realrecording density among the performance characteristics of the recordinghead. To achieve this, it is required to implement a recording head of anarrow track structure wherein the width of top and bottom polessandwiching the recording gap layer on a side of the air bearing surfaceis reduced down to microns or a submicron order. Semiconductor processtechniques are utilized to implement such a structure. A pattern width,such as the throat height in particular is also a factor that determinesthe recording head performance. The throat height is the length (height)of pole portions, that is, portions of magnetic pole layers facing eachother with a recording gap layer in between, between theair-bearing-surface-side end and the other end. To achieve improvementin the recording head performance, it is desirable to reduce the throatheight. The throat height is controlled by an amount of lapping when theair bearing surface is processed.

[0007] As thus described, it is important to fabricate well-balancedrecording and reproducing heads to improve the performance of thethin-film magnetic head.

[0008] In order to implement a thin-film magnetic head that achieveshigh recording density, the requirements for the reproducing headinclude a reduction in reproducing track width, an increase inreproducing output, and a reduction in noise. The requirements for therecording head include a reduction in recording track width, animprovement in overwrite property that is a parameter indicating one ofcharacteristics when data is written over existing data, and animprovement in nonlinear transition shift.

[0009] In general, a flying-type thin-film magnetic head used in a harddisk drive and the like is made up of a slider having a thin-filmmagnetic head element formed at the trailing edge thereof. The sliderslightly flies over a recording medium by means of airflow generated bythe rotation of the medium.

[0010] Reference is now made to FIGS. 65 to 67 to describe an example ofa method of manufacturing a related-art thin-film magnetic head element.FIG. 65 is a cross section orthogonal to the air bearing surface. FIG.66 is a cross section of the thin-film magnetic head element parallel tothe air bearing surface. FIG. 67 is a top view of the thin-film magnetichead element.

[0011] According to the manufacturing method, an insulating layer 102made of alumina (Al₂O₃), for example, is first formed on a substrate 101made of aluminum oxide and titanium carbide (Al₂O₃—TiC), for example. Onthe insulating layer 102, a bottom shield layer 103 of a magneticmaterial is formed for a reproducing head. Next, a bottom shield gapfilm 104 of an insulating material such as alumina is formed on thebottom shield layer 103. An MR element 105 for reproduction is thenformed on the bottom shield gap film 104. On the bottom shield gap film104, a pair of electrode layers 106 are formed to be electricallyconnected to the MR element 105. Next, a top shield gap film 107 of aninsulating material such as alumina is formed on the bottom shield gapfilm 104, the MR element 105 and the electrode layers 106. The MRelement 105 is embedded in the shield gap films 104 and 107.

[0012] Next, a top-shield-layer-cum-bottom-pole layer (called a bottompole layer in the following description) 108 is formed on the top shieldgap film 107. The bottom pole layer 108 is made of a magnetic materialand used for both the reproducing head and the recording head. Arecording gap layer 109 of an insulating film such as an alumina film isthen formed on the bottom pole layer 108. Next, the recording gap layer109 is partially etched to form a contact hole for making a magneticpath. A top pole tip 110 of a magnetic material is then formed for therecording head on the recording gap layer 109 in the pole portion. Atthe same time, a magnetic layer 119 of a magnetic material is formed formaking the magnetic path in the contact hole for making the magneticpath.

[0013] Next, the recording gap layer 109 and the bottom pole layer 108are etched through ion milling, using the top pole tip 110 as a mask. Asshown in FIG. 66, the structure is called a trim structure wherein thesidewalls of the top pole portion (the top pole tip 110) therecording-gap layer 109, and a part of the bottom pole layer 108 areformed vertically in a self-aligned manner. Next, an insulating layer111 made of an alumina film, for example, is formed over the entiresurface. The insulating layer 111 is then lapped to the surfaces of thetop pole tip 110 and the magnetic layer 119 and flattened.

[0014] On the flattened insulating layer 111, a first layer 112 of athin-film coil, made of copper (Cu), for example, is formed for theinduction-type recording head. Next, a photoresist layer 113 is formedinto a specific shape on the insulating layer 111 and the first layer112 of the coil. Heat treatment is performed at a specific temperatureto flatten the surface of the photoresist layer 113. Next, a secondlayer 114 of the thin-film coil is formed on the photoresist layer 113.A photoresist layer 115 is then formed into a specific shape on thephotoresist layer 113 and the second layer 1.14 of the coil. Heattreatment is performed at a specific temperature to flatten the surfaceof the photoresist layer 115.

[0015] A top pole layer 116 for the recording head is formed on the toppole tip 110, the photoresist layers 113 and 115 and the magnetic layer119. The top pole layer 116 is made of a magnetic material such asPermalloy (NiFe). Next, an overcoat layer 117 of alumina, for example,is formed to cover the top pole layer 116. Finally, machine processingof the slider including the forgoing layers is performed to form the airbearing surface 118 of the recording head and the reproducing head. Thethin-film magnetic head element is thus completed.

[0016] In FIG. 67, the overcoat layer 117 and the other insulatinglayers and films are not shown.

[0017] Reference is now made to FIGS. 68 to 73 to describe theconfiguration and functions of a related-art slider. FIG. 68 is a bottomview showing an example of the configuration of the air bearing surfaceof the related-art slider. FIG. 69 is a perspective view of therelated-art slider. In the example shown in FIGS. 68 and 69, the airbearing surface of the slider 120 is shaped such that the slider 120slightly flies over the surface of a recording medium such as a magneticdisk by means of an airflow generated by the rotation of the recordingmedium. In this example, a thin-film magnetic head element 122 isdisposed at a position near the air outflow end of the slider 120 (theend on the upper side of FIG. 68) and near the air bearing surfacethereof. The configuration of the thin-film magnetic head element 122 isas shown in FIGS. 65 to 67, for example. Portion A of FIG. 68corresponds to FIG. 66.

[0018] In the example shown in FIGS. 68 and 69, the air bearing surfaceof the slider 120 has first surfaces 121 a that are closest to therecording medium, a second surface 121 b having a first difference inlevel from the first surfaces 121 a, and a third surface 121 c having asecond difference in level, greater than the first difference in level,from the first surfaces 121 a. The first surfaces 121 a are providedclose to both sides along the width of the slider 120 (the lateraldirection in FIG. 68) and around the thin-film magnetic head element122. The second surface 121 b is provided close to the air inflow end(the end on the lower side of FIG. 68). The-remaining part of the airbearing surface, i.e., the part other than the first and second surfaces121 a and 121 b, constitutes the third surface 121 c. The firstdifference in level between the first and second surfaces 121 a and 121b is about 1 μm. The second difference in level between the first andthird surfaces 121 a and 121 c is about 2 to 3 μm.

[0019] While the recording medium is rotating, a pressure is createdbetween the recording medium and the first surfaces 121 a of the airbearing surface of the slider 120 shown in FIGS. 68 and 69, the pressuremoving the slider 120 away from the recording medium. In the air bearingsurface of the slider 120 shown in FIGS. 68 and 69, the second surface121 b is disposed near the air inflow end, and the third surface 121 cis disposed closer to the air outflow end than the second surface 121 bis. Here, while the recording medium is rotating, the air passingthrough between the second surface 121 b and the recording mediumincreases in volume when it reaches the space between the third surface121 c and the recording medium. Accordingly, a negative pressure whichdraws the slider 120 toward the recording medium is generated betweenthe third surface 121 c and the recording medium. As a result, while therecording medium is rotating, the slider 120 flies over the recordingmedium, being inclined such that the air outflow end is closer to therecording medium than the air inflow end is. The inclination of the airbearing surface of the slider 120 with respect to the surface of therecording medium is designed to fall within 10, for example. The amountof flying of the slider 120 can be, reduced by appropriately designingthe shape of the air bearing surface.

[0020] The slider 120 is fabricated as follows. First, a wafer thatincludes a plurality of rows of portions to be sliders (hereinaftercalled slider portions), each of the slider portions including thethin-film magnetic head element 122, is cut in one direction to formblocks called bars each of which includes a row of slider portions. Thesurface of this bar to be the air bearing surface is then lapped into alapped surface. Then, first photoresist masks are formed byphotolithography on a portion of this lapped surface, the portion beingto be the first surfaces 121 a. Using the first photoresist masks, thelapped surface is selectively etched to form a stepped surface that hasthe first difference in level from the lapped surface. The firstphotoresist masks are then removed. Then, a second photoresist mask isformed by photolithography on the portion of the lapped surface that isto be the first surfaces 121 a and on a portion of the stepped surfacethat is to be the second surface 121 b. Using this second photoresistmask, the stepped surface is selectively etched to form the thirdsurface 121 c having the second difference in level from the lappedsurface. In this way, the first surfaces 121 a, the second surface 121b, and the third surface 121 c are formed. Then, the bar is cut into theindividual sliders 120.

[0021]FIG. 70 is a sectional view illustrating the slider 120 and arecording medium 140 in a state in which the recording medium 140 is atrest. In FIG. 70, the slider 120 is shown as sectioned along line 70-70of FIG. 68. FIG. 71 shows the slider 120 as viewed from the upper sideof FIG. 68.

[0022] As shown in FIG. 70, the greater part of the slider 120 is madeup of the substrate 101 made of aluminum oxide and titanium carbide, forexample. The rest of the slider 120 is made up of an insulating portion127 of alumina, for example, and the thin-film magnetic head element 122and so on formed-in the insulating portion 127. The greater part of theinsulating portion 127 is the overcoat layer 117.

[0023] In the slider 120 shown in FIGS. 70 and 71, a protection layer128 of a material such as diamond-like carbon (DLC) is formed on the airbearing surface so as to protect the bottom shield layer 103, the bottompole layer 108, the top pole tip 110, the top pole layer 116 and othersfrom corrosion.

[0024]FIG. 72 is a sectional view illustrating the slider 120 and therecording medium 140 in a state in which the recording medium 140 hasjust started rotation from a resting state. FIG. 73 shows a state inwhich the recording medium 140 is rotating and the slider 120 is flyingover the surface of the recording medium 140 to perform reading andwriting with the thin-film magnetic head element 122. While the slider120 is flying, the minimum distance H11 between the slider 120 and therecording medium 140 is about 8 to 10 nm, and the distance H12 betweenthe air outflow end of the slider 120 and the recording medium 140 isabout 100 to 500 nm.

[0025] Measures for improving the performance of a hard disk drive, suchas a real recording density in particular, include increasing a linearrecording density and increasing a track density. To design ahigh-performance hard disk drive, specific measures to be taken forimplementing the recording head, the reproducing head or the thin-filmmagnetic head as a whole differ depending on whether linear recordingdensity or track density is emphasized. That is, if priority is given totrack density, a reduction in track width is required for both therecording head and the reproducing head, for example.

[0026] If priority is given to linear recording density, it is requiredfor the reproducing head, for example, to improve the reproducing outputand to reduce a shield gap length, that is, the distance between thebottom shield layer and the top shield layer. Furthermore, it isrequired to reduce the distance between the recording medium and thethin-film magnetic head element (hereinafter called a magnetic space).

[0027] A reduction in magnetic space is achieved by reducing the amountof flying of the slider. A reduction in magnetic space contributes notonly to an improvement in the reproducing output of the reproducing headbut also to an improvement in the overwrite property of the recordinghead.

[0028] The amount of flying of the slider can be reduced, for example,by forming the first, second, and third surfaces having differences inlevel from one another in the air bearing surface of the slider as shownin FIGS. 68 and 69.

[0029] According to the conventional method of manufacturing a slider, awafer is cut in one direction to form a plurality of bars, and the barsare lapped to have a lapped surface, followed by formation of the firstto third surfaces in the lapped surface of each bar. The step of formingthe first to third surfaces in the lapped surface can be performed for aplurality of bars at a time. To this end, however, it is necessary thatthe plurality of bars be placed in a prescribed arrangement and thensubjected to mask-forming and etching processes. Thus, the conventionalmethod involves a large number of steps for manufacturing a slider,which increases the manufacturing cost of the slider.

[0030] On the other hand, as the magnetic space is reduced, the slideris likely to collide with the recording medium, which can result indamage to the recording medium and the thin-film magnetic head element.To avoid this, it is required to enhance the smoothness of the surfaceof the medium. However, the slider easily sticks to the medium if thesmoothness of the surface of the medium is enhanced. This results in aproblem that the slider is harder to take off from the recording mediumwhen the recording medium starts rotation from a resting state where theslider is in contact with the recording medium.

[0031] Conventionally, a crown or a camber is formed on the air bearingsurface of the slider in order to prevent the slider from sticking tothe recording medium. A crown refers to a convex surface which gentlycurves along the length of the slider 120 as shown in FIG. 70. A camberrefers to a convex surface which gently curves along the width of theslider 120 as shown in FIG. 71. The crown has a difference of elevationC1 on the order of 10 to 50 nm. The camber has a difference of elevationC2, on the order of 5 to 20 nm.

[0032] Crowns are conventionally formed, for example, by changing theorientation of the bar with respect to the surface plate when lappingthe air bearing surface of the bar.

[0033] Cambers are conventionally formed by the following method, forexample. That is, after lapping the air bearing surface of the bar toadjust MR height, slits are made in the bar, using a diamond grinder orthe like, at positions at which the slider portions are to be separated.Then, the air bearing surface of the bar is re-lapped lightly on aconcave surface plate.

[0034] In the above-described method for forming cambers, after the MRheight is precisely adjusted by lapping the air bearing surface of thebar, the air bearing surface of the bar is lapped again by about 10 to20 nm in order to form the camber. This results in a problem that the MRheight can deviate from its desired value. Further, according to thismethod, when the air bearing surface of the bar is lapped on the concavesurface plate, the bar can be scratched by stain and dust on the surfaceplate, which results in a problem of a lower yield of the thin-filmmagnetic heads. Further, according to this method, when the air bearingsurface of the bar is lapped on the concave surface plate, chippings ofthe electrode layer connected to the MR element may be jammed and spreadbetween the air bearing surface and the surface plate, producing adefect called a smear. The smear sometimes causes an electric shortcircuit between the MR element and the shield layers. The short circuitcan lower the sensitivity of the reproducing head and produce noise inthe reproducing output, thereby deteriorating the performance of thereproducing head.

[0035] Further, if crowns/cambers are to be formed on the air bearingsurfaces of the sliders, the manufacturing costs of the sliders areraised because of the steps of forming the crowns/cambers.

OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0036] A first object of the invention is to provide a slider of athin-film magnetic head which can be manufactured in a smaller number ofsteps, and a method of manufacturing such a slider.

[0037] A second object of the invention is, in addition to theaforementioned first object, to provide a slider of a thin-film magnetichead and a method of manufacturing same, which make it possible toreduce the magnetic space, prevent the slider from sticking to therecording medium, and prevent damages to a recording medium or athin-film magnetic head element due to a collision between the sliderand the recording medium.

[0038] A slider of a thin-film magnetic head according to the inventioncomprises:

[0039] a slider section having a first medium facing surface that facestoward a rotating recording medium and an air inflow end; and

[0040] an element section having a second medium facing surface thatfaces toward the recording medium, an air outflow end, and a thin-filmmagnetic head element,

[0041] wherein the first medium facing surface has concavities andconvexities for controlling the orientation of the slider section whilethe recording medium is rotating, and

[0042] the slider section and the element section are bonded to eachother such that the air inflow end and the air outflow end are disposedon opposite sides with the first and second medium facing surfaces inbetween.

[0043] The slider of a thin-film magnetic head of the inventioncomprises the slider section and the element section that are bonded toeach other. It is therefore possible to mass-produce the slider sectionand the element section separately at a time.

[0044] In the slider of a thin-film magnetic head of the invention, theslider section may have a substrate portion and a medium facing layerplaced on the substrate portion, the first medium facing surface may beformed on the medium facing layer, the element section may have aninsulating portion surrounding the thin-film magnetic head element, thesubstrate portion may have a hardness greater than that of theinsulating portion, and, as the substrate portion and the medium facinglayer are compared in hardness, the hardness of the medium facing layermay be closer to the hardness of the insulating portion.

[0045] In the slider of a thin-film magnetic head of the invention, thefirst medium facing surface may have a first surface closer to theelement section, a second surface closer to the air inflow end, and aborder portion located between the first and second surfaces. The secondsurface may be slanted against the first surface such that the first andsecond surfaces make a convex shape bent at the border portion.

[0046] While the recording medium is rotating, the second surface mayslant against the surface of the recording medium such that the airinflow end is farther from the recording medium than the border portionis. In this case, the second surface and the surface of the recordingmedium may form an angle of 30° or smaller while the recording medium isrotating.

[0047] In the slider of a thin-film magnetic head of the invention,where the first medium facing surface has the first surface, the secondsurface and the border portion, the slider section may be in contactwith the surface of the recording medium while the recording medium isat rest, and may stay away from the surface of the recording mediumwhile the recording medium is rotating. In this case, when the slidersection comes into contact with the surface of the recording medium, theborder portion may be the first to make contact with the surface of therecording medium. When the slider section takes off from the surface ofthe recording medium, the border portion may be the last to depart fromthe surface of the recording medium.

[0048] Regardless of whether the recording medium is rotating or atrest, the slider section may be in contact with the surface of therecording medium at the border portion, and the first surface and thesecond surface may slant against the surface of the recording mediumsuch that the element section and the air inflow end are off therecording medium.

[0049] The first surface and the second surface may form an angle of 30°or smaller.

[0050] The first medium facing-surface may have a recess formed in aregion including the border portion.

[0051] The second medium facing surface may be disposed farther from therecording medium than the first surface of the first medium facingsurface is.

[0052] In the slider of a thin-film magnetic head of the invention thethin-film magnetic head element may comprise a magnetoresistive elementfor reproduction and an induction-type electromagnetic transducer forrecording, the electromagnetic transducer being disposed farther fromthe slider section than the magnetoresistive element is.

[0053] A method of the invention is provided for manufacturing a sliderof a thin-film magnetic head, the slider comprising: a slider sectionhaving a first medium facing surface that faces toward a rotatingrecording medium and an air inflow end; and an element section having asecond medium facing surface that faces toward the recording medium, anair outflow end, and a thin-film magnetic head element, wherein thefirst medium facing surface has concavities and convexities forcontrolling the orientation of the slider section while the recordingmedium is rotating, and the slider section and the element section arebonded to each other such that the air inflow end and the air outflowend are disposed on opposite sides with the first and second mediumfacing surfaces in between.

[0054] The method comprises the steps of: producing the slider section;producing the element section separately from the slider section; andbonding the slider section and the element section to each other.

[0055] According to the method of manufacturing the slider of theinvention, the slider section and the element section are producedseparately, and they are bonded to each other to complete the slider.Therefore, it is possible to mass-produce the slider section and theelement section separately at a time.

[0056] In the method of manufacturing the slider of the invention, thestep of producing the slider section may include the step of forming aplurality of the first medium facing surfaces corresponding to aplurality of the slider sections for a first wafer, and the step ofproducing the element section may include the step of forming aplurality of the thin-film magnetic head elements on a second wafer.

[0057] In the method of manufacturing the slider of the invention, thestep of producing the slider section may include the steps of: forming aplurality of the first medium facing surfaces corresponding to aplurality of the slider sections for a first wafer to thereby form afirst slider section aggregate including a plurality of the slidersections arranged in a plurality of rows; and cutting the first slidersection aggregate to thereby form a second slider section aggregateincluding a plurality of the slider sections arranged in a row. The stepof producing the element section may include the steps of: forming aplurality of the thin-film magnetic head elements on a second wafer tothereby form a first element section aggregate including a plurality ofthe element sections arranged in a plurality of rows; and cutting thefirst element section aggregate to thereby form a second element sectionaggregate including a plurality of the element sections arranged in arow. The step of bonding the slider section and the element section toeach other may include the step of bonding the second slider sectionaggregate and the second element section aggregate to each other tothereby produce a slider aggregate including a plurality of the slidersarranged in a row. The method of manufacturing the slider may furthercomprise the step of cutting the slider aggregate into a plurality ofthe sliders separated from one another.

[0058] In the method of manufacturing the slider of the invention, theslider section may have a substrate portion and a medium facing layerplaced on the substrate portion, the element section may have aninsulating portion surrounding the thin-film magnetic head element, thesubstrate portion may have a hardness greater than that of theinsulating portion, the hardness of the medium facing layer may becloser to the hardness of the insulating portion as the substrateportion and the medium facing layer are compared in hardness, and, thefirst medium facing surface may be formed on the medium facing layer inthe step of producing the slider section.

[0059] The method of manufacturing the slider of the invention mayfurther comprise the step of lapping the first and second medium facingsurfaces so as to flatten the first and second surfaces, after the stepof bonding the slider section and the element section to each other.

[0060] The method of manufacturing the slider of the invention mayfurther comprise, after the step of bonding the slider section and theelement section to each other, the step of lapping the first mediumfacing surface so as to allow the first medium facing surface to have afirst surface closer to the element section, a second surface closer tothe air inflow end, and a border portion located between the first andsecond surfaces, and to allow the second surface to slant against thefirst surface such that the first and second surfaces make a convexshape bent at the border portion. In this case, the first surface andthe second surface may form an angle of 30° or smaller. The method ofmanufacturing the slider may further comprise the step of forming arecess in a region including the border portion in the first mediumfacing surface. Further, the second medium facing surface may bedisposed farther from the recording medium than the first surface of thefirst medium facing surface is.

[0061] In the method of manufacturing the slider of the invention, aceramic-based adhesive may be used to bond the slider section and theelement section to each other in the step of bonding the slider sectionand the element section to each other.

[0062] In the method of manufacturing the slider of the invention, inthe step of bonding the slider section and the element section to eachother, a thermosetting adhesive may be put between the slider sectionand the element section, and the adhesive may be cured by heating at atemperature of 300° C. or less to thereby bond the slider section andthe element section to each other.

[0063] In the method of manufacturing the slider of the invention, thestep of producing the element section may include the steps of: forminga plurality of the thin-film magnetic head elements on one of surfacesof a wafer; and removing at least part of the wafer by lapping the otherone of the surfaces of the wafer. In this case, in the step of bondingthe slider section and the element section to each other, a surfaceformed at the element section by the lapping may be bonded to the slidersection. Alternatively, in the step of bonding the slider section andthe element section to each other, a surface-opposite to the surfaceformed at the element section by the lapping may be bonded to the slidersection. In the step of removing at least part of the wafer, the otherone of the surfaces of the wafer may be lapped with a support plateplaced on a plurality of the thin-film magnetic head elements. At leastpart of the support plate, the part including the surface facing thethin-film magnetic head elements, may have conductivity.

[0064] In the method of manufacturing the slider of the invention, thestep of producing the slider section may include the steps of: formingan etching mask of metal on one of surfaces of a ceramic substrate; andetching the ceramic substrate by dry etching through the use of theetching mask to thereby form the concavities and convexities on the oneof the surfaces of the ceramic substrate. In this case, the dry etchingmay be reactive ion etching.

[0065] In the method of manufacturing the slider of the invention, thestep of producing the slider section may include the steps of: forming afirst etching mask of metal on one of surfaces of a ceramic substrate;etching the ceramic substrate by dry etching through the use of thefirst etching mask to thereby form a first recess in the one of thesurfaces of the ceramic substrate; forming a second etching mask tocover part of the first recess; and etching the ceramic substratefurther by dry etching through the use of the second etching mask tothereby form a second recess deeper than the first recess in the one ofthe surfaces of the ceramic substrate.

[0066] In the method of manufacturing the slider of the invention, amagnetoresistive element for reproduction and an induction-typeelectromagnetic transducer for recording may be formed in this order onone of surfaces of a wafer in the step of producing the element section,and the slider section and the element section may be bonded to eachother such that the magnetoresistive element is disposed closer to theslider section than the induction-type electromagnetic transducer in thestep of bonding the slider section and the element section to eachother.

[0067] In the method of manufacturing the slider of the invention, theinduction-type electromagnetic transducer for recording and themagnetoresistive element for reproduction may be formed in this order onone of surfaces of the wafer in the step of producing the elementsection, and the slider section and the element section may be bonded toeach other such that the magnetoresistive element is disposed closer tothe slider section than the induction-type electromagnetic transducer inthe step of bonding the slider section and the element section to eachother.

[0068] Other and further objects, features and advantages of theinvention will appear more fully from the following description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0069]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a slider according to a firstembodiment of the invention.

[0070]FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a first slider section aggregateof the first embodiment.

[0071]FIG. 3 is a sectional view for illustrating the step of forming afirst medium facing surface in the first embodiment.

[0072]FIG. 4 is a sectional view for illustrating a step that followsFIG. 3.

[0073]FIG. 5 is a sectional view for illustrating a step that followsFIG. 4.

[0074]FIG. 6 is a sectional view for illustrating a step that followsFIG. 5.

[0075]FIG. 7 is a sectional view for illustrating a step that followsFIG. 6.

[0076]FIG. 8 is a sectional view for illustrating a step that followsFIG. 7.

[0077]FIG. 9 is a perspective view for illustrating the step shown inFIG. 5.

[0078]FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a first wafer after the firstmedium facing surface of the first embodiment has been formed.

[0079]FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a first element section aggregateof the first embodiment.

[0080]FIG. 12 is a sectional view of a thin-film magnetic head elementof the first embodiment.

[0081]FIG. 13 is a sectional view of the thin-film magnetic head elementof the first embodiment.

[0082]FIG. 14 is a sectional view for illustrating the step of producingan element section of the first embodiment.

[0083]FIG. 15 is a sectional view for illustrating a step that followsFIG. 14.

[0084]FIG. 16 is a sectional view for illustrating a step that followsFIG. 15.

[0085]FIG. 17 is a sectional view for illustrating a step that followsFIG. 16.

[0086]FIG. 18 is a perspective view for illustrating the step of bondinga slider section and the element section to each other in the firstembodiment.

[0087]FIG. 19 is a perspective view for illustrating the step of lappingthe first medium facing surface and a second medium facing surface inthe first embodiment.

[0088]FIG. 20 is a perspective view of a slider aggregate of the firstembodiment after it has been lapped.

[0089]FIG. 21 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration ofa lapping apparatus for lapping the slider aggregate of the firstembodiment.

[0090]FIG. 22 is a block diagram showing an example of a circuitconfiguration of the lapping apparatus shown in FIG. 21.

[0091]FIG. 23 is a side view for illustrating the step of bonding theslider section and the element section to each other in the firstembodiment.

[0092]FIG. 24 is a side view for illustrating a step that follows FIG.23.

[0093]FIG. 25 is a side view for illustrating a step that follows FIG.24.

[0094]FIG. 26 is a front view of the slider according to the firstembodiment.

[0095]FIG. 27 is a perspective view of a head gimbal assemblyincorporating the slider according to the first embodiment.

[0096]FIG. 28 is an explanatory view showing the main part of a harddisk drive in which the slider according to the first embodiment isused.

[0097]FIG. 29 is a top view of the hard disk drive in which the slideraccording to the first embodiment is used.

[0098]FIG. 30 is a perspective view of a slider according to a secondembodiment of the invention.

[0099]FIG. 31 is a sectional view for illustrating the step of forming afirst medium facing surface in the second embodiment.

[0100] FIG,. 32 is a sectional view for illustrating a step that followsFIG. 31.

[0101]FIG. 33 is a sectional view for illustrating a step that followsFIG. 32.

[0102]FIG. 34 is a sectional view for illustrating a step that followsFIG. 33.

[0103]FIG. 35 is a sectional view for illustrating a step that followsFIG. 34.

[0104]FIG. 36 is a sectional view for illustrating a step that followsFIG. 35.

[0105]FIG. 37 is a side view for illustrating the step of bonding aslider section and an element section to each other in the secondembodiment.

[0106]FIG. 38 is a side view for illustrating a step that follows FIG.37.

[0107]FIG. 39 is a side view for illustrating a step that follows FIG.38.

[0108]FIG. 40 is a perspective view of a slider according to a thirdembodiment of the invention.

[0109]FIG. 41 is a perspective view for illustrating the step of bondinga slider section and an element section to each other in the thirdembodiment.

[0110]FIG. 42 is a side view for illustrating the step of bonding theslider section and the element section to each other in the thirdembodiment.

[0111]FIG. 43 is a side view for illustrating a step that follows FIG.42.

[0112]FIG. 44 is a side view for illustrating a step that follows FIG.43.

[0113]FIG. 45 is a side view for illustrating a step that follows FIG.44.

[0114]FIG. 46 is a side view showing a state of the slider according tothe third embodiment while the recording medium is rotating.

[0115]FIG. 47 is a side view showing a state of the slider according tothe third embodiment while the recording medium is at rest.

[0116]FIG. 48 is a perspective view of a slider of a first modifiedexample of the third embodiment.

[0117]FIG. 49 is a perspective view of a slider of a second modifiedexample of the third embodiment.

[0118]FIG. 50 is a side view of a slider of a third modified example ofthe third embodiment.

[0119]FIG. 51 is a perspective view of a slider according to a fourthembodiment of the invention.

[0120]FIG. 52 is a side view for illustrating the step of producing aslider section in the fourth embodiment.

[0121]FIG. 53 is a side view for illustrating the step of bonding theslider section and an element section to each other in the fourthembodiment.

[0122]FIG. 54 is a side view for illustrating a step that follows FIG.53.

[0123]FIG. 55 is a side view for illustrating a step that, follows FIG.54.

[0124]FIG. 56 is a perspective view illustrating an example of theappearance of the slider according to the fourth embodiment.

[0125]FIG. 57 is a perspective view illustrating another example of theappearance of the slider according to the fourth embodiment.

[0126]FIG. 58 is a side view showing a state of the slider according tothe fourth embodiment while the recording medium is rotating.

[0127]FIG. 59 is a side view showing a state of the slider according tothe fourth embodiment while the recording medium is at rest.

[0128]FIG. 60 is a side view of a slider of a modified example of thefourth embodiment.

[0129]FIG. 61 is a perspective view illustrating an example of theappearance of a slider according to a fifth embodiment of the invention.

[0130]FIG. 62 is a perspective view illustrating another example of theappearance of the slider according to the fifth embodiment.

[0131]FIG. 63 is a sectional view of a thin-film magnetic head elementaccording to the fifth embodiment.

[0132]FIG. 64 is a sectional view of the thin-film magnetic head elementaccording to the fifth embodiment.

[0133]FIG. 65 is a sectional view of a thin-film magnetic head elementof related art.

[0134]FIG. 66 is a sectional view of the thin-film magnetic head elementof the related art.

[0135]FIG. 67 is a top view of the thin-film magnetic head element ofthe related art.

[0136]FIG. 68 is a bottom view illustrating an example of aconfiguration of the air bearing surface of a related- art slider.

[0137]FIG. 69 is a perspective view of the related-art slider.

[0138]FIG. 70 is a sectional view illustrating the related-art sliderand a recording medium in a state in which the recording medium is atrest.

[0139]FIG. 71 is a front view of the related-art slider as viewed fromthe upper side of FIG. 68.

[0140]FIG. 72 is a sectional view illustrating the related-art sliderand the recording medium in a state in which the recording medium hasjust started rotation from a resting state.

[0141]FIG. 73 is a sectional view illustrating the related-art sliderflying over the surface of the recording medium.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0142] Preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described indetail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIRST EMBODIMENT

[0143] Reference is now made to FIG. 1 to describe a configuration of aslider of a thin-film magnetic head (hereinafter simply referred to as aslider) according to a first embodiment of the invention. FIG. 1 is aperspective view of the slider according to the embodiment.

[0144] The slider 20 according to the first embodiment comprises aslider section 21 and an element section 22. The entire slider section21 has a generally cuboid shape. The entire element section 22 has acuboid shape. The entire slider 20 has a generally cuboid shape.

[0145] The slider section 21 has: a first medium facing surface 31facing toward a rotating recording medium; and an air inflow end 41serving as an end from which an airflow generated by the rotation of therecording medium flows in. The slider section 21 is made of aluminumoxide and titanium carbide, for example.

[0146] The element section 22 has: a second medium facing surface 32facing toward the recording medium; an air outflow end 42 serving as anend from which the airflow generated by the rotation of the recordingmedium flows out; and a thin-film magnetic head element 23. Thethin-film magnetic head element 23 is disposed near the second mediumfacing surface 32.

[0147] The slider section 21 and the element section 22 are bonded toeach other such that the air inflow end 41 and the air outflow end 42are disposed on opposite sides with the first and second medium facingsurfaces 31 and 32 in between.

[0148] The first medium facing surface 31 has concavities andconvexities for controlling the orientation of the slider section 21during the rotation of the recording medium. Specifically, the firstmedium facing surface 31 has surfaces 31 a that are closest to therecording medium, a surface 31 b having a predetermined first differencein level from the surfaces 31 a, and a surface 31 c having a seconddifference in level, greater than the first difference in level, fromthe surfaces 31 a. The surfaces 31 a are provided close to both sidesalong the width of the slider section 21 and adjacent to the elementsection 22. The surface 31 b is provided close to the air inflow end 41.The remaining part of the first medium facing surface 31, i.e., the partother than the surfaces 31 a and 31 b, constitutes the surface 31 c.

[0149] The slider 20 of the embodiment can provide a force to cause theslider section 21 to move apart from or move toward the recording mediumby means of an airflow according to the shape of the concavities andconvexities of the first medium facing surface 31. Therefore, theorientation of the slider 20 during the rotation of the recording mediumcan be controlled by appropriately designing the shape of theconcavities and convexities of the first medium facing surface 31.

[0150] The element section 22 includes a substrate portion 24 serving asan underlying base for the thin-film magnetic head element 23, and aninsulating portion 25 surrounding the thin-film magnetic head element23. The substrate portion 24 is made of aluminum oxide and titaniumcarbide, for example. The insulating portion 25 is made mainly ofalumina, for example. The substrate portion 24 is bonded to the slidersection 21. Electrode pads 18 are provided on the surface of theinsulating portion 25 opposite to the substrate portion 24. The pads 18are connected to the thin-film magnetic head element 23. The substrateportion 24 is not necessarily required, however. When the elementsection 22 does not include the substrate portion 24, the insulatingportion 25 is bonded to the slider section 21.

[0151] Although not shown in FIG. 1, the slider 20 may include aprotection layer to cover the first and second medium facing surfaces 31and 32. The protection layer is made of alumina or diamond-like carbon,for example.

[0152] A method of manufacturing the slider 20 according to theembodiment will now be described. The method includes the steps ofproducing the slider section 21, producing the element section 22separately from the slider section 21, and bonding the slider section 21and the element section 22 to each other.

[0153] First, the step of producing the slider section 21 will bedescribed. As shown in FIG. 2, the step of producing the slider section21 includes: the step of forming a plurality of the first medium facingsurfaces 31 corresponding to a plurality of the slider sections 21 for afirst wafer 50 to thereby form a first slider section aggregate 51Aincluding a plurality of the slider sections 21 arranged in a pluralityof rows; and the step of cutting the first slider section aggregate 51Ain positions denoted by reference numeral 52 in FIG. 2, thereby formingsecond slider section aggregates each including a plurality of theslider sections 21 arranged in a row. The first wafer 50 may be made ofsilicon, or of a ceramic material such as aluminum oxide and titaniumcarbide. The first wafer 50 appearing in the following description ismade of aluminum oxide and titanium carbide. The first wafer 50corresponds to the ceramic substrate according to the invention.

[0154] In the step of forming a plurality of the first medium facingsurfaces 31 for the first wafer 50, the first medium facing surfaces 31may be formed with a camber. In forming the camber, it is recommendableto provide the first wafer 50-with incisions using a diamond grinder atthe positions denoted by reference numeral 53 in FIG. 2, before formingthe first medium facing surfaces 31.

[0155] Referring now to FIGS. 3 to 10, the step of forming a pluralityof the first medium facing surfaces 31 for the first wafer 50 will bedescribed in detail. FIGS. 3 to 8 are sectional views each showing apart of the first wafer 50. In this step, first, a seed layer forplating is formed on one of surfaces of the first wafer 50 bysputtering. The seed layer is 50 nm in thickness, for example. Then, aframe for forming an etching mask by frame plating is formed on the seedlayer by photolithography. The etching mask is formed using the frame byframe plating. The material of the etching mask is a metal such as NiFeand Cu. Here, the material of the etching mask is NiFe (Ni: 80 wt %, Fe:20 wt %) by way of example. The etching mask may have a thickness ofabout 0.5 μm to 1.0 μm. Then, the frame is removed and, part of the seedlayer, i.e, the part that was under the frame, is removed by ionmilling, for example.

[0156]FIG. 3 shows the metal etching mask 54 thus formed on the one ofthe surfaces of the first wafer 50. The etching mask 54 is placed inpositions where the surfaces 31 a of the first medium facing surfaces 31are to be formed.

[0157] Then, as shown in FIG. 4, the first wafer 50 is etched by dryetching through the use of the etching mask 54, thereby forming firstrecesses 55 on the one of the surfaces of the first wafer 50. The firstrecesses 55 are about 1 μm in depth. A part of the bottom surface ofeach first recess 55 makes the surface 31 b of the first-medium facingsurface 31. The dry etching used here is ion milling or reactive ionetching. If the reactive ion etching is employed, a halogen-based gassuch as Cl₂, BCl₃, CF₄ and SF₆ may be used as the reactive gas. Using asthe reactive gas a mixture of Cl₂ and BCl₃ in the ratio of 10:4 or aratio ±10% shifted from the above ratio will allow a large etchingselectivity ratio between the etching mask 54 of metal and the wafer 50of aluminum oxide and titanium carbide. The reactive gas may also be amixture gas of O₂, N₂, Ar, He, and H₂. The reactive gas may also be agas containing the above halogen-based gas and the above mixture gas.

[0158] Then, as shown in FIG. 5, with the etching mask 54 leftunremoved, an etching mask 56 of a photoresist, for example, is formedon the one of the surfaces of the first wafer 50 to cover a part of eachof the first recesses 55. As shown in FIG. 9, the etching mask 56 isprovided in positions where the surfaces 31 b of the first medium facingsurfaces 31 are to be formed. Then, using the etching masks 54 and 56,the first wafer 50 is further dry-etched to form second recesses 57deeper than the first recesses 55 on the one of the surfaces of thefirst wafer 50. The depth of the second recesses 57 from the surfaces 31a is about 3 μm, for example. A part of the bottom surface of eachsecond recess 57 makes the surface 31 c of the first medium facingsurface 31. The remaining part of each second recess 57 is disposedbetween adjacent ones of the first medium facing surfaces 31. The methodof etching the wafer 50 to form the second recesses 57 is the same asthe method of etching the wafer 50 to form the first recesses 55.

[0159] The etching mask 56 is then removed by a solvent, and the etchingmask 54 is removed by ion milling, for example. In this way, the firstmedium facing surfaces 31 each including the surfaces. 31 a to 31 c areformed.

[0160] The first medium facing surfaces 31 are lapped on a concavesurface plate to form a camber for each first medium facing surface 31.

[0161] Then, as shown in FIG. 6, an etching mask 58 of a photoresist,for example, is formed on the one of the surfaces of the first wafer 50.The etching mask 58 is formed on a portion of each first medium facingsurface 31 other than its peripheral portion, and used for chamferingthe peripheral portion of each first medium facing surface 31.

[0162] Then, as shown in FIG. 7, the first wafer 50 is etched by, forexample, reactive ion etching through the use of the etching mask 58.The etching depth is about 5 μm, for example. The portion of the surfaceof the first wafer 50 located between adjacent ones of the first mediumfacing surfaces 31 has a depth of, for example, 3 μm from the surfaces31 a before the etching using the etching mask 58, and therefore thedepth after the etching is about 8 μm, for example, from the surfaces 31a.

[0163] When the first wafer 50 is etched by reactive ion etching usingthe etching mask 58, the etching mask 58 is side-etched as well. As aresult, as shown in FIG. 7, the peripheral portions of the first mediumfacing surfaces 31 are etched more deeply on the outer sides. Theperipheral portions are thereby shaped into a curved surface.

[0164] Then, as shown in FIG. 8, the etching mask 58 is removed with asolvent. Chamfering the peripheral portions of the first medium facingsurfaces 31 as described above allows to prevent damage to the recordingmedium in a hard disk drive due to a collision of the slider section 21against the recording medium because of mechanical vibration or thelike. In FIG. 8, the broken line indicated by reference numeral 59represents the border between adjacent ones of the slider sections 21.

[0165]FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the first wafer 50 after thefirst medium facing surfaces 31 have been formed in the manner describedabove. Note that FIG. 10 shows only a part of the first wafer 50corresponding to a single slider section 21.

[0166] The first slider section aggregate 51A shown in FIG. 2 is formedin this way. The first slider section aggregate 51A is cut in thepositions denoted by reference numeral 52. Thus, the second slidersection aggregates each including a plurality of the slider sections 21arranged in a row are formed.

[0167] The step of producing the element section 22 will now bedescribed. As shown in FIG. 11, the step of producing the elementsection 22 includes the steps of: forming a plurality of the thin-filmmagnetic head elements 23 on a second wafer 60 to thereby form a firstelement section aggregate 61A including a plurality of the elementsections 22 arranged in a plurality of rows; and cutting the firstelement section aggregate 61A in positions denoted by reference numeral62 in FIG. 11 to thereby produce second element section aggregates eachincluding a plurality of the element sections 22 arranged in a row. Thesecond wafer 60 may be made of silicon, or a ceramic material such asaluminum oxide and titanium carbide. The second wafer 60 appearing inthe following description is made of aluminum oxide and titaniumcarbide.

[0168] Reference is now made to FIGS. 12 and 13 to describe aconfiguration of the thin-film magnetic head element 23 and an exampleof a method of forming the same will be described. FIGS. 12 and 13 aresectional views of the thin-film magnetic head element 23. FIG. 12 showsa section orthogonal to the second medium facing surface 32 and the topsurface of the second wafer 60, while FIG. 13 shows a section parallelto the second medium facing surface 32.

[0169] In the method of forming the thin-film magnetic head element 23shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, an insulating layer 2 made of alumina (Al₂O₃)for example, is first formed on the second wafer 60. On the insulatinglayer 2, a bottom shield layer 3 of a magnetic material is formed forthe reproducing head. Then, a bottom shield gap film 4 of an insulatingmaterial such as alumina is formed on the bottom shield layer 3. An MRelement 5 for reproduction is then formed on the bottom shield gap film4. A pair of electrode layers 6 are then formed on the bottom shield gapfilm 4. The electrode layers 6 are electrically connected to the MRelement 5. Then, a top shield gap film 7 of an insulating material suchas alumina is formed on the bottom shield gap film 4, the MR element 5,and the electrode layers 6. The MR element 5 is embedded in the shieldgap films 4 and 7.

[0170] The MR element 5 may be an element utilizing a magnetosensitivefilm that exhibits magnetoresistivity, such as an AMR element, a GMRelement or a tunnel magnetoresistive (TMR) element. Examples ofinsulating materials to be used for the shield gap films 4 and 7 includealumina, aluminum nitride, and diamond-like carbon (DLC). The shield gapfilms 4 and 7 may be formed through sputtering or chemical vapordeposition (CVD).

[0171] Then, a top-shield-layer-cum-bottom-pole layer (hereinaftercalled a bottom pole-layer) 8 is formed on the top shield gap film 7.The bottom pole layer 8 is made of a magnetic material and used for boththe reproducing head and the recording head. A recording gap layer 9made of an insulating film such as an alumina film is then formed on thebottom pole layer 8. Then, the recording gap layer 9 is partially etchedto form a contact hole 9 a for making a magnetic path. A pole portionlayer 10 a of a magnetic material is formed on the recording gap layer 9in the magnetic pole portion. At the same time, a magnetic layer 10 b ofa magnetic material is formed on the contact hole 9 a.

[0172] Using the pole portion layer 10 a as a mask, the recording gaplayer 9 is dry-etched, and then a part of the bottom pole layer 8 isetched to form a trim structure as shown in FIG. 13. The trim structuresuppresses an increase in the effective track width due to expansion ofa magnetic flux generated during writing in a narrow track. The etchingof the recording gap layer 9 is effected by, for example, reactive ionetching using a halogen-based gas. The etching of the bottom pole layer8 is effected by argon ion milling, for example.

[0173] Then, a first layer 12 of a thin-film coil made of copper, forexample, is formed on recording gap layer 9 for the recording head. InFIG. 12, reference numeral 12 a denotes the connection part of the firstlayer 12 to be connected to a second layer 14 of the thin-film coildescribed later. A conductor layer 12 b is then formed on the connectionpart 12 a.

[0174] Then, an insulating layer 13 made of alumina, for example, isformed to cover the entire surface. The insulating layer 13 is polishedby chemical mechanical polishing (CMP), for example, so that the poleportion layer 10 a the magnetic layer 10 b and the conductor layer 12 bare exposed, and the surface is flattened.

[0175] The second layer 14 of the thin-film coil is then formed on theinsulating layer 13. In FIG. 12, reference numeral 14 a indicates theconnection part of the second layer 14 that is connected to the firstlayer 12 of the thin-film coil. The connection part 14 a is connected tothe conductor layer 12 b. Then, a photoresist layer 15 is formed tocover the second layer 14 of the thin-film coil.

[0176] Then, a yoke portion layer 10 c of a magnetic material such asPermalloy (NiFe) is formed on the pole portion layer 10 a, thephotoresist layer 15 and the magnetic layer 10 b. The pole portion layer10 a, the magnetic layer lob and the yoke portion layer 10 c make up atop pole layer 10. An overcoat layer 17 made of alumina, for example, isthen formed on the yoke portion layer 10 c. The surface of the overcoatlayer 17 is flattened, and electrode pads 18 (see FIG. 1) are formedthereon.

[0177] The second wafer 60 is to be the substrate portion 24 in FIG. 1.The greater part of the insulating portion 25 shown in FIG. 1 is theovercoat layer 17.

[0178] The thin-film magnetic head element 23 comprises the reproducinghead and the recording head (induction-type electromagnetic transducer).The reproducing head includes the MR element 5 for magnetic signaldetection, and the bottom shield layer 3 and the top shield layer(bottom pole layer 8) for shielding the MR element 5. Portions of thebottom shield layer 3 and the top shield layer on a side of the secondmedium facing surface 32 are opposed to each other, with the MR element5 interposed between these portions of the bottom shield layer 3 and thetop shield layer.

[0179] The recording head includes the bottom pole layer 8 and the toppole layer 10 magnetically coupled to each other and including magneticpole portions that are opposed to each other and located in regions on aside of the second medium facing surface 32. The recording head furtherincludes: the recording gap layer 9 provided between the magnetic poleportion of the bottom pole layer 8 and the magnetic pole portion of thetop pole-layer 10; and the thin-film coil including the layers 12 and14, at least part of the thin-film coil being disposed between thebottom pole layer 8 and the top pole layer 10 and insulated from thebottom and top pole layers 8 and 10.

[0180] According to the embodiment, the reproducing head including theMR element 5 and the recording head (induction-type electromagnetictransducer) are formed in this order on one of surfaces of the secondwafer 60.

[0181]FIG. 14 is a sectional view showing a part of the second wafer 60where a plurality of the thin-film magnetic head elements 23 are formed.The step of producing the element section 22 according to the embodimentincludes the step of removing at least part of the second wafer 60 afterforming the plurality of the thin-film magnetic head elements 23 on theone of the surfaces of the second wafer 60 (the surface on the upperside of FIG. 14) as described above. Reference is now made to FIGS. 15to 17 to describe the step of removing at least part of the second wafer60.

[0182] In this step, as shown in FIG. 15, a support plate 63 is placedon the plurality of the thin-film magnetic head elements 23, and bondedto the overcoat layer 17. It is preferable that at least a part of thesupport plate 63, the part including the surface that faces thethin-film magnetic head elements 23, has-conductivity. In this case, itis possible to prevent damage to the MR elements 5 in the thin-filmmagnetic head elements 23 due to electrostatic discharge which could becaused by the electrode pads 18 contacting the support plate 63.

[0183] Then, as shown in FIGS. 16 and 17, at least part of the wafer 60is removed by lapping the other surface of the second wafer 60 (thesurface on the lower side of FIG. 16) with a grinder, for example,thereby forming the first element section aggregate 61A. FIG. 16 showsthe first element section aggregate 61A after part of the wafer 60 isremoved, while FIG. 17 shows the first element section aggregate 61Aafter the entire wafer 60 is removed. For the first element sectionaggregate 61A formed by removing part of the wafer 60, the remainingpart of the wafer 60 in the first element section aggregate 61Aconstitutes the substrate portions 24.

[0184] In FIGS. 16 and 17, the alternate long and short dashed lineswith reference numeral 64 indicate the border between adjacent ones ofthe element sections 22. The border 64 corresponds to the cuttingposition 62 shown in FIG. 11. The first element section aggregate 61A iscut along the cutting positions 62 together with the support plate 63.Thus, the second element section aggregates each including a pluralityof the element sections 22 arranged in a row are formed, and the secondmedium facing surfaces 32 are formed in the positions of the border 64.

[0185] The step of bonding the slider section 21 and the element section22 to each other will now be described. As shown in FIG. 18, in the stepof bonding the slider section 21 and the element section 22 to eachother, one second slider section aggregate 51B including a plurality ofthe slider sections 21 arranged in a row and one second element sectionaggregate 61B including a plurality of the element sections 22 arrangedin a row are bonded to each other, thereby producing a slider aggregateincluding a plurality of the sliders 20 arranged in a row. FIG. 18 showsa part of the second slider section aggregate 51B corresponding to asingle slider section 21, and a part of the second element sectionaggregate 61B corresponding to a single element section 22. The elementsection 22 shown in FIG. 18 has the substrate portion 24 constituted bypart of the second wafer 60 remaining after the lapping. However, thesubstrate portion 24 is not necessarily required.

[0186] The surface of the slider section 21 to be bonded to the elementsection 22 is, of the two surfaces formed by cutting the first slidersection aggregate 51A in the position indicated by reference numeral 52in FIG. 2, the one on the opposite side to the air inflow end 41.Meanwhile, the surface of the element section 22 to be bonded to theslider section 21 is the surface formed by lapping in the step shown inFIG. 16 or 17.

[0187] The element section 22 is bonded to the slider section 21 so thatthe reproducing head including the MR element 5 is disposed closer tothe slider section 21 than the recording head (induction-typeelectromagnetic transducer).

[0188] To bond the slider section 21 and the element section 22 to eachother, a ceramic-based thermosetting adhesive is first applied to atleast one of the slider section 21 and the element section 22. Then, thesections are butted against each other and the adhesive is cured byheating. Here, in order to prevent damage to some of the films making upthe MR element 5 which are vulnerable to heat, the adhesive ispreferably heated at a temperature at 300° C. or lower for curing tobond the slider section 21 and the element section 22 to each other.Heating the adhesive at a temperature of 200° C. to 300° C. for curingwill allow the films vulnerable to heat to be prevented from beingdamaged and also allow the slider section 21 and the element section 22to strongly adhere to each other.

[0189] The method of manufacturing the slider according to theembodiment includes, after bonding the slider section 21 and the elementsection 22 to each other as described above, the step of lapping thefirst and second medium facing surfaces 31 and 32 to flatten thesesurfaces 31 and 32. As shown in FIG. 19, the lapping is performed on a,slider aggregate 70 including a plurality of the sliders 20 arranged ina row. FIG. 19 shows the slider aggregate 70 brought into contact with asurface plate 71. FIG. 20 shows the slider aggregate 70 after thelapping.

[0190] As shown in FIG. 19, the slider aggregate 70 may be lapped whilethe support plate 63 remains attached to the slider aggregate 70.Alternatively, the support plate 63 may be detached from the slideraggregate 70 before lapping the slider aggregate 70. When the slideraggregate 70 is lapped while the support plate 63 remains attached tothe slider 70, the support plate 63 may be detached from the slideraggregate 70 after the lapping, or after a protection layer to bedescribed later is formed for the slider aggregate 70.

[0191] The lapping of the slider aggregate 70 is performed whiledetecting the resistance values of the MR elements 5 in the plurality ofthe element sections 22 included in the slider aggregate 70 so as tomake every element section 22 equal in MR height and in throat height.

[0192] Referring now to FIGS. 21 and 22, description will be given of anexample of the method of lapping the slider aggregate 70 while detectingthe resistance values of the MR elements 5 in the plurality of theelement sections 22 included in the slider aggregate 70 so as to makeevery element section 22 equal in MR height and in throat height.

[0193]FIG. 21 is a perspective view illustrating a schematicconfiguration of a lapping apparatus for lapping the slider aggregate70. This lapping apparatus 151 comprises: a table 160; a rotatinglapping table 161 provided on the table 160; a strut 162 provided on thetable 160 by the side of the rotating lapping table 161; and a materialsupporter 170 attached to the strut 162 through an arm 163. The rotatinglapping table 161 has a lapping plate (surface plate) 161 a to come tocontact with the first and second medium facing surfaces 31 and 32 ofthe slider aggregate 70.

[0194] The material supporter 170 comprises a jig retainer 173 and threeload application rods 175A, 175B and 175C placed in front of the jigretainer 173 with specific spacing. A jig 180 is to be fixed to the jigretainer 173. The jig 180 has three load application sections each ofwhich is in the shape of a hole having an oblong cross section. Loadapplication pins are provided at the lower ends of the load applicationrods 175A, 175B and 175C, respectively. Each of the load applicationpins has a head to be inserted to each of the load application sections(holes) of the jig 180, the head having an oblong cross section. Each ofthe load application pins is driven by an actuator (not shown) in thevertical, horizontal (along the length of the jig 180) and rotationaldirections.

[0195] The jig 180 has a retainer for retaining the slider aggregate 70.With this jig 180, the retainer and the slider aggregate 70 are deformedby applying loads in various directions to the three load applicationsections. The first and second medium facing surfaces 31 and 32 of theslider aggregate 70 are thereby lapped while the throat heights and MRheights of a plurality of the element sections 22 in the slideraggregate 70 are controlled so that the target values are obtained.

[0196]FIG. 22 is a block diagram showing an example of the circuitconfiguration of the lapping apparatus shown in FIG. 21. This lappingapparatus comprises: nine actuators 191 to 199 for applying loads in thethree directions to the load application sections of the jig 180; acontroller 186 for controlling the nine actuators 191 to 199 throughmonitoring the resistance values of a plurality of MR elements 5 in theslider aggregate 70; and a multiplexer 187, connected to the MR elements5 in the slider aggregate 70 through a connector (not shown), forselectively connecting one of the MR elements 5 to the controller 186.

[0197] In this lapping apparatus, the controller 186 monitors theresistance values of the MR elements 5 in the slider aggregate 70through the multiplexer 187, and controls the actuators 191 to 199 sothat throat height and MR height of every element section 22 in theslider aggregate 70 fall within a certain limited tolerance.

[0198] Reference is now made to FIGS. 23 to 25 to detail the step ofbonding the slider section 21 and the element section 22 to each otherand subsequent steps. FIGS. 23 to 25 are side views of the slideraggregate 70.

[0199] As shown in FIG. 23, in the step of bonding the slider section 21and the element section 22 to each other, the second slider sectionaggregate 51B including a plurality of the slider sections 21 arrangedin a row and the second element section aggregate 61B including aplurality of the element sections 22 arranged in a row are bonded toeach other using an adhesive 73, thereby producing the slider aggregate70 including a plurality of the sliders 20 arranged in a row. By goingthrough this step, as shown in FIG. 23, a difference in level maydevelop between the first medium facing surface 31 in the slider section21 and the second medium facing surface 32 in the element section 22.

[0200] Following the above-mentioned step, as described before, thefirst and second medium facing surfaces 31 and 32 are lapped while thethroat heights and MR heights of the plurality of the element sections22 in the slider aggregate 70 are controlled to obtain target values.The first and second medium facing surfaces 31 and 32 are therebyflattened as shown in FIG. 24. Thus, according to the embodiment, it ispossible to flatten the first and second medium facing surfaces 31 and32 even if precision in the alignment of the slider section. 21 and theelement section 22 is low at the time of bonding these sections.

[0201] Then, as shown in FIG. 25, a protection layer 74 is formed tocover the first and second medium facing surfaces 31 and 32 of theslider aggregate 70. The protection layer 74 is made of alumina ordiamond-like carbon, for example. The protection layer 74 has athickness of about 3 to 5 nm, for example.

[0202] Finally, the slider aggregate 70 is cut into a plurality of thesliders. 20 separated from one another. FIG. 26 is a front view of theslider 20 as viewed from the side of the element section 22.

[0203] Reference is now made to FIGS. 27 to 29 to describe a head gimbalassembly and a hard disk drive incorporating the slider 20 of thepresent embodiment. Now, reference is made to FIG. 27 to describe thehead gimbal assembly 220. In a hard disk drive, the slider 20 isdisposed to face toward a hard disk platter 26.2 that is acircular-plate-shaped recording medium to be rotated and driven. Thehead gimbal assembly 220 comprises the slider 20 and a suspension 221that flexibly supports the slider 20. The suspension 221 incorporates: aplate-spring-shaped load beam 222 made of stainless steel, for example;a flexure 223 to which the slider 20 is joined, the flexure beingprovided at an end of the load beam 222 and giving an appropriate degreeof freedom to the slider 20; and a base plate 224 provided at theother-end of the load beam 222. The base plate 224 is attached to an arm230 of an actuator that moves the slider 20 along the x direction acrossthe track of the hard disk platter 262. The actuator incorporates thearm 230 and a voice coil motor that drives the arm 230. A gimbal sectionthat maintains the orientation of the slider 20 is provided in theportion of the flexure 223 on which the slider 20 is mounted.

[0204] The head gimbal assembly 220 is attached to the arm 230 of theactuator. An assembled body comprising the arm 230 and the head gimbalassembly 220 attached to the arm 230 is called a head arm assembly. Anassembled body comprising a plurality of head gimbal assemblies 220 anda carriage with a plurality of arms is called a head stack assembly, inwhich the head gimbal assemblies 220 are each attached to the arms.

[0205]FIG. 27 illustrates an example of the head arm assembly. In thehead arm assembly, the head gimbal assembly 220 is attached to an end ofthe arm 230. A coil 231 that is part of the voice coil motor is fixed tothe other end of the arm 230. A bearing 233 is provided in the middle ofthe arm 230. The bearing 233 is attached to an axis 234 that rotatablysupports the arm 230.

[0206] Reference is now made to FIGS. 28 and 29 to describe an exampleof the head stack assembly and the hard disk drive. FIG. 28 is anexplanatory view illustrating the main part of the hard disk drive. FIG.29 is a top view of the hard disk drive. The head stack assembly 250incorporates a carriage 251 having a plurality of arms 252. A pluralityof head gimbal assemblies 220 are each attached to the arms 252 suchthat the assemblies 220 are arranged in the vertical direction withspacing between adjacent ones. A coil 253 that is part of the voice coilmotor is mounted on the carriage 251 on a side opposite to the arms 252.The head stack assembly 250 is installed in the hard disk drive. Thehard disk drive includes a plurality of hard disk platters 262 mountedon a spindle motor 261. Two of the sliders 20 are allocated to each ofthe platters 262, such that the two sliders 20 face each other with eachof the platters 262 in between. The voice coil motor includes permanentmagnets 263 located to face each other, the coil 253 of the head stackassembly 250 being placed between the magnets 263.

[0207] The head stack assembly 250 except the slider 20 and the actuatorsupport the slider 20 and align it with respect to the hard disk platter262.

[0208] In this hard disk drive, the actuator moves the slider 20 acrossthe track of the platter 262 and aligns the slider 20 with respect tothe platter 262. The thin-film magnetic head incorporated in the slider20 writes data on the platter 262 through the use of the recording headand reads data stored on the platter 262 through the use of thereproducing head.

[0209] For the slider 20 according to the embodiment, while therecording medium (hard disk platter 262) is rotating, a pressurefor-moving the slider 20 away from the recording medium is generatedbetween the recording medium and the surfaces 31 a of the first mediumfacing surface 31 of the slider 20. On the other hand, while therecording medium is rotating, the air passing through between thesurface 31 b and the recording medium increases in volume when itreaches the space between the surface 31 c and the recording medium.Accordingly, a negative pressure to draw the slider 20 toward therecording medium is generated between the surface 31 c and the recordingmedium. As a result, while the recording medium is rotating, the slider20 flies over the recording medium, being inclined such that the airoutflow end 42 is closer to the recording medium than the air inflow end41 is.

[0210] As described in the foregoing, according to the embodiment, theslider section 21 and the element section 22 are produced separately,and then bonded to each other to complete the slider 20. Therefore,according to the embodiment, it is possible to mass-produce the slidersection 21 and element section 22 separately at a time. In particular,it is possible to prepare at a time a large number of the first mediumfacing surfaces 31 corresponding to a large number of the slidersections 21 for the first wafer 50. According to the conventional methodof manufacturing a slider, a wafer having a plurality of thin-filmmagnetic head elements formed thereon is cut into a plurality of bars.Each bar is then lapped to form a lapped surface, and the lapped surfaceof each bar is etched to form medium facing surfaces. According to theslider 20 of the embodiment and the manufacturing method thereof, it ispossible to significantly reduce the number of steps for manufacturingthe slider, as compared with the case of the conventional slider and themanufacturing method thereof. The manufacturing cost of the slider 20 isthereby significantly reduced.

[0211] Meanwhile, according to the conventional method of manufacturinga slider, a camber is formed by lapping the bar using a concave surfaceplate. In contrast, according to the embodiment, the camber is formed bylapping the first wafer 50 using a concave surface plate. Therefore,according to the embodiment, a larger number of cambers can be formedfor the sliders at a time as compared with the case of the conventionalmethod. This also serves to reduce the manufacturing cost of the slider20.

[0212] According to the conventional method, the bar including thethin-film magnetic head elements is lapped using a concave surface plateto form a camber. The lapping for forming the camber may result inoccurrence of a smear, which can degrade the characteristics of thereproducing head. In contrast, according to the embodiment, the camberis formed by lapping the first wafer 50 that does not include thethin-film magnetic head elements 23. As a result, the lapping forforming the camber will not cause degradation in the characteristics ofthe reproducing head.

[0213] According to the embodiment, the step of chamfering theperipheral portion of the first medium facing surface 31 is performedalso on the first wafer 50. This also serves to reduce the manufacturingcost of the slider 20.

SECOND EMBODIMENT

[0214] Description will now be given of a slider according to a secondembodiment and a manufacturing method thereof. FIG. 30 is a perspectiveview of the slider 20 according to the embodiment. In the slider 20, theslider section 21 includes a substrate portion 21A and a medium facinglayer 21B placed on the substrate portion 21A. The first medium facingsurface 31 is formed on the medium facing layer 21B. As in the firstembodiment, the element section 22 has the insulating portion 25surrounding the thin-film magnetic head element 23.

[0215] The hardness of the substrate portion 21A is greater than that ofthe insulating portion 25. As the substrate 21A and the medium facinglayer 21B are compared in hardness, the hardness of the medium facinglayer 21B is closer to that of the insulating portion 25. The mainmaterial of the insulating portion 25 and the material of the mediumfacing layer 21B are preferably the same. The substrate portion 21A ismade of aluminum oxide and titanium carbide, for example. The insulatingportion 25 is made mainly of alumina, for example. The medium facinglayer 21B is made of alumina or diamond-like carbon, for example. Theslider 20 according to the embodiment is otherwise configured the sameas in the first embodiment.

[0216] A method of manufacturing the slider 20 according to theembodiment will now be described. The method includes the steps ofproducing the slider section 21, producing the element section 22separately from the slider section 21, and bonding the slider section 21and the element section 22 to each other. In this embodiment, the stepof producing the element section 22 is the same as that in the firstembodiment.

[0217] The step of producing the slider section 21 will now bedescribed. The step is essentially the same as that in the firstembodiment. As will be described, however, in the embodiment the firstwafer 50 has a substrate portion and a medium facing layer placed on thesubstrate portion. A plurality of the first medium facing surfaces 31corresponding to a plurality of the slider sections 21 are formed in themedium facing layer of the first wafer 50.

[0218] Reference is now made to FIGS. 31 to 36 to detail the step offorming a plurality of the first medium facing surfaces 31 for the firstwafer 50. FIGS. 31 to 36 are sectional views each showing a part of thefirst wafer 50. According to the embodiment, the first wafer 50 has asubstrate portion 50A, and a medium facing layer 50B placed on thesubstrate portion 50A. The substrate portion. 50A is later cut into thesubstrate portions 21A of the slider sections 21. Similarly, the mediumfacing layer 50B is later-cut into the medium facing layers 21B of theslider sections 21. The medium facing layer 50B has a thickness of 3 μmto 5 μm, for example.

[0219] In this step, first, a seed layer for plating is formed on themedium facing layer 50B of the first wafer 50 by sputtering. The seedlayer has a thickness of 50 nm, for example. Then, a frame for formingan etching mask by frame plating is formed on the seed layer byphotolithography. The etching mask is formed using the frame by frameplating. The material of the etching mask is a metal such as NiFe andCu. Here, the material of the etching mask is NiFe (Ni: 80 wt %, Fe: 20wt %) by way of example. The etching mask may have a thickness of about0.5 μm to 1.0 μm. The frame is then removed and, a part of the seedlayer, the part that was under the frame is removed by ion milling, forexample.

[0220]FIG. 31 shows the metal etching mask 54 thus formed on the mediumfacing layer 50B. The etching mask 54 is placed in positions where thesurfaces 31 a of the first medium facing surfaces 31 are to be formed.

[0221] Then, as shown in FIG. 32, the medium facing layer 50B is etchedby dry etching through the use of the etching mask 54, thereby formingthe first recesses 55 on the top surface of the medium facing layer 50B.The first recesses 55 are about 1 μm in depth. A part of the bottomsurface of each first recess 55 makes the surface 31 b of the firstmedium facing surface 31. The dry etching used here is ion milling orreactive ion etching. If reactive ion etching is employed, ahalogen-based gas such as Cl₂, BCl₃, CF₄ and SF₆ may be used as thereactive gas. Using as the reactive gas a mixture of Cl₂ and BCl₃ in theratio of 10:4 or a ratio ±10% shifted from the above ratio will allow alarge etching selectivity ratio between the etching mask 54 of metal andthe medium facing layer 50B of alumina. The reactive etching gas mayalso be a mixture gas of O₂, N₂, Ar, He, and H₂. The reactive gas mayalso be a gas containing the above halogen-based gas and the abovemixture gas.

[0222] Then, as shown in FIG. 33, with the etching mask 54 leftunremoved, the etching mask 56 of a photoresist, for example, is formedon the medium facing layer 50B to cover a part of each of the firstrecesses 55. As shown in FIG. 9, the etching mask 56 is provided inpositions where the surfaces 31 b of the first medium facing surfaces 31are to be formed. Then, using the etching masks 54 and 56, the firstwafer 50 is further dry-etched to form the second recesses 57 deeperthan the first recesses 55 on the top surface of the medium facing layer50B. The depth of the second recesses 57 from the surfaces 31 a is about3 μm, for example. A part of the bottom surface of each second recess 57makes the surface 31 c of the first medium facing surface 31. Theremaining part of each second recess 57 is disposed-between adjacentones of the first medium facing surfaces 31. The method of etching thewafer 50 to form the second recesses 57 is the same as the method ofetching the wafer 50 to form the first recesses 55.

[0223] The etching mask 56 is then removed by a solvent, and the etchingmask 54 is removed by ion milling, for example in this way, the firstmedium facing surfaces 31 including the surfaces 31 a to 31 c areformed.

[0224] The first medium facing surfaces 31 are lapped on a concavesurface plate to form a camber for each first medium facing surface 31.

[0225] Then, as shown in FIG. 34, the etching mask 58 of a photoresist,for example, is formed on the medium facing layer 50B. The etching mask58 is formed on a portion of each first medium facing surface 31 otherthan its peripheral portion, and used for chamfering the peripheralportion of each first medium facing surface 31.

[0226] Then, as shown in FIG. 35, the medium facing layer 50B is etchedby, for example, reactive ion etching through the use of the etchingmask 58. The etching depth is about 5 μm, for example. The portion ofthe top surface of the medium facing layer 50B located between theadjacent ones of the first medium facing surfaces 31 has a depth of, forexample, 3 μm from the surfaces 31 a before the etching using theetching mask 58, and therefore the depth after the etching is about 8μm, for example, from the surfaces 31 a.

[0227] When the first wafer 50 is etched by reactive ion etching usingthe etching mask 58, the etching mask 58 is side-etched as well. As aresult, as shown in FIG. 35, the peripheral portions of the first mediumfacing surfaces 31 are etched more deeply on the outer sides. Theperipheral portions are thereby shaped into a curved surface.

[0228] Then, as shown in FIG. 36, the etching mask 58 is removed with asolvent. Chamfering the peripheral portions of the first medium facingsurfaces 31 as described above allows to prevent damage to the recordingmedium in a hard disk drive due to a collision of the slider section 21against the recording medium because of mechanical vibration or thelike. In FIG. 36, the broken line indicated by reference numeral 59represents the border between adjacent ones of the slider sections 21.

[0229] The first slider section aggregate 51A shown in FIG. 2 is formedin this way. The first slider section aggregate 51A is cut in thepositions denoted by reference numeral 52. Thus, the second slidersection aggregates each including a plurality of the slider sections 21arranged in a row are formed.

[0230] Reference is now made to FIGS. 37 to 39 to describe the step ofbonding the slider section 21 and the element section 22 to each otherand subsequent steps. FIGS. 37 to 39 are side-views of the slideraggregate 70.

[0231] As shown in FIG. 37, in the step of bonding the slider section 21and the element section 22 to each other, the second slider sectionaggregate 51B including a plurality of the slider sections 21 arrangedin a row and the second element section aggregate 61B including aplurality of the element sections 22 arranged in a row are bonded toeach other using the adhesive 73 to produce the slider aggregate 70including a plurality of the sliders 20 arranged in a row. By goingthrough this step, as shown in FIG. 37, a difference in level maydevelop between the first medium facing surface 31 in the slider section21 and the second medium facing surface 32 in the element section 22.

[0232] Following the above-mentioned step, the first and second mediumfacing surfaces 31 and 32 are lapped while the throat heights and MRheights of the plurality of the element sections 22 in the slideraggregate 70 are controlled to obtain target values. The first andsecond medium facing surfaces 31 and 32 are thereby flattened as shownin FIG. 38.

[0233] Then, as shown in FIG. 39, the protection layer 74 is formed tocover the first and second medium facing surfaces 31 and 32 of theslider aggregate 70. The protection layer 74 is made of alumina ordiamond-like carbon, for example. The protection layer 74 has athickness of about 3 to 5 nm, for example. Finally, the slider aggregate70 is cut into a plurality of the sliders 20 separated from one another.

[0234] Here, assume that the substrate portion 21A of the slider section21 is made of aluminum oxide and titanium carbide; the insulatingportion 25 of the element section 22 is made mainly of alumina; themedium facing layer 21B is not provided; and the first medium facingsurface 31 is formed on the substrate portion 21A. In this case, whenlapping the first and second medium facing surfaces 31 and 32, theinsulating portion 25 and the substrate portion 21A harder than theinsulating portion 25 are lapped at the same time. Accordingly, as aresult of the lapping, a difference of about 3 to 5 nm in level may becreated between the first and second medium facing surfaces 31 and 32,the second medium facing surface 32 being recessed from the first mediumfacing surface 31. This would result in an increase in the magneticspace and therefore hinder improvements in the characteristics of therecording head and the reproducing head.

[0235] In contrast, according to the embodiment, the medium facing layer21B is provided on the substrate portion 21A, and the first mediumfacing surface 31 is formed on the medium facing layer 21B. The hardnessof the substrate portion 21A is greater than that of the insulatingportion 25. As the substrate 21A and the medium facing layer 21B arecompared in hardness, the hardness of the medium facing layer 21B iscloser to that of the insulating portion 25. Therefore, according to theembodiment, no difference in level will be caused between the first andsecond medium facing surfaces 31 and 32 as a result of lapping thesesurfaces. In particular, when the main material of the insulatingportion 25 and the material of the medium facing layer 21B are the same,the above-mentioned difference in level can substantially be eliminated.

[0236] From the foregoing, according to the embodiment, the low-flyingslider 20 is achieved, that is, a reduction in the magnetic space isachieved. Furthermore, as a result of reduction in the magnetic spacethe embodiment makes it is possible to improve the reproducing outputand reduce the half width of the reproducing head, thereby increasingthe recording density. As a result of reduction in the magnetic space,it is also possible to improve the overwrite property and nonlineartransition shift of the recording head.

[0237] The remainder of the configuration, functions and effects of thepresent embodiment are the same as those of the first embodiment.

THIRD EMBODIMENT

[0238] Description will now be given of a slider according to a thirdembodiment and-a manufacturing method thereof. FIG. 40 is a perspectiveview of the slider 20 according to the embodiment. In the slider 20, thefirst medium facing surface 31 has first surfaces 33 closer to theelement section 22, second surfaces 34 closer to the air inflow end 41,and border portions 35 each located between the first and secondsurfaces 33 and 34. The first surfaces 33 include two portions disposednear the sidewalls of the slider section 21 along the width thereof, anda portion disposed near the end of the slider section 21 closer to theelement section 22. The second surfaces 34 include two portions disposednear the sidewalls of the slider section 21 along the width thereof, thetwo portions extending in the direction of air passage and beingconnected to the two portions of the first surfaces 33. The first mediumfacing surface 31 further includes a third surface 36 disposed betweenthe two portions of the second surfaces 34 and extending in thedirection of air passage.

[0239] Each second surface 34 is slanted against the first surface 33such that the first and second surfaces 33 and 34 make a convex shape(roof-like shape) bent at the border portion 35. The first and secondsurfaces 33 and 34 preferably form an angle of 30° or smaller, and morepreferably an angle of 10° or smaller. It is also preferable that theangle formed between the first and second surfaces 33 and 34 does notfall below 0.1°.

[0240] The first and third surfaces 33 and 36 lie in parallel to thesurface of the slider section 21 opposite from the first medium facingsurface 31. The second and third surfaces 34 and 36 have such adifference in level that the third surface 36 is located farther fromthe recording medium than the second surfaces 34 are. This difference inlevel varies gradually so as to increase with decreasing distance fromthe element section 22. In other words, each second surface 34 makes aplane that slants against the third surface 36. The second and thirdsurfaces 34 and 36 preferably form an angle of 30° or smaller, and morepreferably an angle of 10° or smaller. It is also preferable that theangle formed between the second and third surfaces 34 and 36 does notfall below 0.1°.

[0241] In the first medium facing surface 31, the length from eachborder portion 35 to the end of the medium facing surface 31 closer tothe element section 22 is preferably 50% or less of the length from theend thereof closer to the element section 22 to the air inflow end 41.

[0242] The slider 20 according to the embodiment is otherwise configuredthe same as in the first embodiment.

[0243] A method of manufacturing the slider 20 according to theembodiment will now be described. The method includes the steps ofproducing the slider section 21, producing the element section 22separately from the slider section 21, and bonding the-slider section 21and the element section 22 to each other. The method further includes,after the step of bonding the slider section 21 and the element section22 to each other, the step of lapping the first medium facing surface 31so as to allow the first medium facing surface 31 to have the firstsurfaces 33 closer to the element section 22, the second surfaces 34closer to the air inflow end 41, and the border portions 35 each locatedbetween the first and second surfaces 33 and 34, and to allow the secondsurfaces 34 to slant against the first surfaces 33 such that the firstand second surfaces 33 and 34 make a convex shape bent at the borderportion 35. In this embodiment, the step of producing the elementsection 22 is the same as that in the first embodiment.

[0244] The step of producing the slider section 21 will now bedescribed. As in the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the step ofproducing the slider section 21 includes: the step of forming aplurality of the first medium facing surfaces 31 corresponding to aplurality of the slider sections 21 for the first wafer 50 to therebyform the first slider section aggregate 51A including a plurality of theslider sections 21 arranged in a plurality of rows; and the step ofcutting the first slider section aggregate 51A in positions denoted byreference numeral 52 in FIG. 2, thereby forming the second slidersection aggregates 51B each including a plurality of the slider sections21 arranged in a row, as shown in FIG. 41.

[0245] According to the embodiment, however, as shown in FIG. 41, theshape of the first medium facing surface 31 after the step of producingthe slider section 21 is different from that of the first embodiment asdescribed below. That is, the first medium facing surface 31 includessurfaces 37 closest to the recording medium and having the same shape asthe surfaces 31 a of the first embodiment, and the third surface 36 hasa predetermined difference in level from the surfaces 37. The differencein level between the surfaces 37 and 36 is about 2 to 3 μm, for example.

[0246] The first medium facing surfaces 31 may be formed in a similarway to the case of forming the first recesses 55 (see FIG. 4) on one ofsurfaces of the first wafer 50 in the first embodiment. Morespecifically, an etching mask of metal is formed on one of surfaces ofthe first wafer 50, and the first wafer 50 is etched by dry etchingthrough the use of the etching mask, thereby forming the third surfaces36 on the one-of the surfaces of the first wafer 50.

[0247] The step of bonding the slider section 21 and the element section22 to each other is the same as that in the first embodiment.Specifically, as shown in FIG. 41, the second slider section aggregate51B including a plurality of the slider sections 21 arranged in a rowand the second element section aggregate 61B including a plurality ofthe element sections 22 arranged in a row are bonded to each other,thereby producing the slider aggregate 70 including a plurality of thesliders 20 arranged in a row as shown in FIG. 19.

[0248] Reference is now made to FIGS. 42 to 45 to detail the step ofbonding the slider section 21 and the element section 22 to each otherand subsequent steps. FIGS. 42 to 45 are side views of the slideraggregate 70.

[0249] In the step of bonding the slider section 21 and the elementsection 22 to each other, as shown in FIG. 42, the second slider sectionaggregate 51B including a plurality of the slider sections 21 arrangedin a row and the second element section aggregate 61B including aplurality of the element sections 22 arranged in a row are bonded toeach other using the adhesive 73, thereby producing the slider aggregate70 including a plurality of the sliders 20 arranged in a row. By goingthrough this step, as shown in FIG. 42, a difference in level maydevelop between the first medium facing surface 31 in the slider section21 and the second medium facing surface 32 in the element section 22.

[0250] Following the above-mentioned step, the first and second mediumfacing surfaces 31 and 32 are lapped while the throat-heights and MRheights of the plurality of the element sections 22 in the slideraggregate 70 are controlled to obtain target values. The first andsecond medium facing surfaces 31 and 32 are thereby flattened as shownin FIG. 43.

[0251] Then, a step shown in FIG. 44 is performed. In this step, part ofeach of the surfaces 37 is lapped by lapping the slider aggregate 70with the orientation of the slider aggregate 70 with respect to thesurface plate made different from that in the step of lapping the firstand second medium facing surfaces 31 and 32. The first surfaces 33, thesecond surfaces 34, and the border portions 35 of the first mediumfacing surface 31 are thereby formed for each slider section 21. At thispoint, the air inflow end 41 is formed for each slider section 21.

[0252] Then, as shown in FIG. 45, the protection layer 74 is formed tocover the first and second medium facing surfaces 31 and 32 of theslider aggregate 70. Finally, the slider aggregate 70 is cut into aplurality of the sliders 20 separated from one another.

[0253] Reference is now made to FIGS. 46-and 47 to describe thefunctions and effects of the slider 20 according to the embodiment. FIG.46 is a side view showing a state of the slider 20 while the recordingmedium 45 is rotating. FIG. 47 is a side view showing a state of theslider 20 while the recording medium 45 is at rest.

[0254] As shown in FIG. 46, while the recording medium 45 is rotating,the slider section 21 flies by means of the airflow created by therotation of the recording medium 45 and is off the surface of therecording medium 45. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 47, the slidersection 21 is in contact with the surface of the recording medium 45while the recording medium 45 is at rest.

[0255] As shown in FIG. 46, while the recording medium 45 is rotating,each second surface 34 of the first medium facing surface 31 slantsagainst the surface of the recording medium 45 such that the smaller thedistance between a point in the second surface 34 and the air inflow end41, the greater the distance between the point in the second surface 34and the recording medium 45. While the recording medium 45 is rotating,the first surfaces 33 of the first medium facing surface 31 and thesecond medium facing surface 32 are almost parallel to the surface ofthe recording medium 45. While the recording medium 45 is rotating, eachsecond surface 34 preferably forms an angle of 30° or smaller, and morepreferably an angle of 10° or smaller, with respect to the surface ofthe recording medium 45. It is also preferable that the angle that thesecond surface 34 forms with the surface of the recording medium 45 isnot smaller than 0.1°. The angle that the second surface 34 forms withthe surface of the recording medium 45 while the recording medium 45 isrotating can be controlled according to the shape of the concavities andconvexities of the first medium facing surface 31.

[0256] According to the embodiment, while the recording medium 45 isrotating, a pressure for moving the slider section 21 away from therecording medium 45 is generated between the recording medium 45 and thesecond surfaces 34. In the embodiment, the difference in level betweenthe second and third surfaces 34 and 36 varies gradually so as toincrease with decreasing distance from the air outflow end 42.Therefore, during the rotation of the recording medium 45, the airpassing through between the third surface 36 and the recording medium 45gradually increases in volume. Consequently, a negative pressure fordrawing the slider section 21 toward the recording medium 45 isgenerated between the third surface 36 and the recording medium 45. Thisnegative pressure allows a part of the slider section 21 located nearthe air outflow end 42, in particular, to be close to the recordingmedium 45 while the medium is rotating. Consequently, according to theslider 20 of the embodiment, a reduction in magnetic space is achieved.In terms of reduction in magnetic space, by appropriately designing theshape of the concavities and convexities of the first medium facingsurface 31, it is possible for the slider 20 of the embodiment to workequivalently or better than the slider 20 shown in FIG. 1 whose firstmedium facing surface.31 has three surfaces of different levels.

[0257] The first medium facing surface 31 shown in FIG. 1 has threesurfaces of different levels. In this case, negative pressure isgenerated by the surfaces 31 b and 31 c whose levels are different fromeach other. In contrast, according to the embodiment, negative pressureis generated by the third surface 36 having no step. Therefore, airflows more smoothly through between the slider 20 and the recordingmedium 45 as compared with the case of the slider 20 shown in FIG. 1.According to the embodiment, it is thus easy to control the orientationof the slider 20 during the rotation of the recording medium 45.

[0258] In the embodiment, when the recording medium 45 shifts from therotating state to the resting state and the slider section 21 comes intocontact with the surface of the recording medium 45, the border portions35 are the first to make contact with the surface of the recordingmedium 45. When the recording medium 45 shifts from the resting state tothe rotating state and the slider section 21 takes off from the surfaceof the recording medium 45, the border portions 35 are the last todepart from the surface of the recording medium 45. Thus, the borderportions 35 function like a wheel of an aircraft.

[0259] As described above, the slider 20 of the embodiment makes contactwith the surface of the recording medium 45 at the border portions 35 ofthe slider section 21. Therefore,.as compared with conventional sliders,the area of the slider section 21 contacting the surface of therecording medium 45 is extremely smaller, yielding an extreme reductionin the frictional resistance between the slider section 21 and thesurface of the recording medium 45. Therefore, according to the slider20 of the embodiment, the initial contact of the slider section 21 withthe surface of the recording medium 45 and the separation of the slidersection 21 from the surface of the recording medium 45 can be performedsmoothly. As a result, it is possible to prevent occurrence of damage tothe recording medium 45 and the thin-film magnetic head element 23 dueto a collision between the slider 20 and the recording medium 45.

[0260] In the slider 20 of the embodiment, the area of the slidersection 21 contacting the surface of the recording medium 45 when it isat rest is extremely smaller than in conventional sliders. It istherefore possible to prevent the slider 20 from sticking to therecording medium 45.

[0261] According to the slider 20 of the embodiment, as shown in FIG.46, during the rotation of the recording medium 45 each second surface34 of the first medium facing surface 31 slants against the surface ofthe recording medium 45 such that the smaller the distance between apoint in the second surface 34 and the air inflow end 41, the greaterthe distance between the point in the second surface 34 and therecording medium 45. As a result, the thin-film magnetic head element 23gets closer to the surface of the recording medium 45. Thus, accordingto the slider 20 of the embodiment, during the rotation of the recordingmedium 45, the thin-film magnetic head element 23 is allowed to be closeto the surface of the recording medium 45 while the second surfaces 34are kept farther from the recording medium 45 than the thin-filmmagnetic head element 23. Therefore, the embodiment makes it possible toattain a greater reduction in magnetic space while avoiding a collisionbetween the slider 20 and the recording medium 45.

[0262] If the edges of the air outflow end 42 are chamfered, it ispossible to prevent a collision between the slider 20 and the recordingmedium 45 with higher reliability.

[0263] As has been described, the slider 20 of the embodiment makes itpossible to reduce the magnetic space. Furthermore, it is possible toprevent the slider 20 from sticking to the recording medium 45, and toprevent damage to the recording medium 45 and the thin-film magnetichead element 23 due to a collision between the slider 20 and therecording medium 45.

[0264] According to the embodiment, as a result of reduction in themagnetic space, it is possible to improve the reproducing output andreduce the half width of the reproducing head of the thin-film magnetichead element 23, thereby increasing the recording density. Furthermore,as a result of reduction in the magnetic space, it is also possible toimprove the overwrite property and nonlinear transition shift of therecording head of the thin-film magnetic head element 23.

[0265] The embodiment thus makes it possible to improve thecharacteristics of both the reproducing head and the recording head ofthe thin-film magnetic head element 23. As a result, it is possible toimprove the yield of hard disk drives that implement the slider 20 ofthe embodiment.

[0266] To form the first medium facing surface 31 shown in FIG. 1 havingthe three surfaces of different levels, two steps of forming an etchingmask and two steps of etching are required. In contrast, the embodimentinvolves only a single step of forming an etching mask and a single stepof etching. Instead, the embodiment requires an extra step of lappingthe first medium facing surface 31 as compared to the case of formingthe first medium facing surface 31 shown in FIG. 1. However, the step oflapping the first medium facing surface 31 is simpler than the steps offorming an etching mask and performing etching. Thus, according to theembodiment, the process for forming the first medium facing surface 31is simpler than that for forming the first medium facing surface 31shown in FIG. 1. The manufacturing cost of the slider 20 is thereforereduced.

[0267] In the embodiment, the first medium facing surface 31 is formedeasier than in the cases where crowns or cambers are formed on themedium facing surfaces of sliders. Besides, there will occur no problemassociated with the crown/camber formation. Thus, according to theembodiment, it is possible to precisely define the shape of the firstmedium facing surface 31, improve the yield of the slider 20 and reducethe manufacturing costs of the slider 20, as compared to the cases wherecrowns or cambers are formed-on the medium facing surfaces of sliders.In view of the foregoing, the embodiment of the invention is excellentin terms of mass productivity.

[0268] In the embodiment, in the first medium facing surface 31 thelength from each border portion 35 to the end of the medium facingsurface 31 closer to the element section 22 is preferably 50% or less ofthe length from the end thereof closer to the element section 22 to theair inflow end 41. If this is satisfied, during rotation of therecording medium 45, the length of the portion (the portion extendingfrom the border portion 35 to the end of the first medium facing surface31 closer to the element section 22) that approaches the surface of therecording medium 45 out of the entire slider section 21 becomes equal toor less than the length of the portion (the second surface 34) that getsaway from the surface of the recording medium 45. It is thereby possibleto prevent a collision between the slider 20 and the recording medium 45with yet higher reliability.

[0269] Meanwhile, according to the embodiment, the slider section 21 andthe element section 22 are bonded to each other to form the slider 20.Therefore, the slider section 21/element section 22 joint portion of theslider 20 is inferior to the other portions in terms of strength.Accordingly, in order to prevent breakage of the slider 20, it ispreferable that no external force be applied to the slider section21/element section 22 joint portion. The slider 20 according to theembodiment contacts the surface of the recording medium 45 at the borderportions 35. Therefore, the slider section 21/element section 22 jointportion does not contact the recording medium 45. As a result, it ispossible to prevent breakage of the slider 20 which could be caused byan external force applied by the recording medium to the slider section21/element section 22 joint portion of the slider 20.

[0270] Three modified examples of the slider 20 according to theembodiment and manufacturing methods thereof will now be described.

[0271]FIG. 48 is a perspective view of the slider 20 according to afirst modified example. In this slider 20, the slider section 21includes the substrate portion 21A and the medium facing layer 21Bplaced on the substrate portion 21A, as in the second embodiment. Thefirst medium facing surface 31 is formed on the medium facing layer 21B.The element section 22 has the insulating portion 25 surrounding thethin-film magnetic head element 23. Examples of the materials of thesubstrate portion 21A, the medium facing layer 21B and the insulatingportion 25, and the relationship among them in terms of hardness are asdescribed in the second embodiment. The slider 20 of the first modifiedexample is otherwise configured the same as the slider 20 shown in FIG.40.

[0272] According to a method of manufacturing the slider 20 of the firstmodified example, in the step of producing the slider section 21, thefirst medium facing surfaces 31 are formed on the medium facing layer21B. The first medium facing surfaces 31 may be formed in a similar wayto the case of forming the first recesses 55 (see FIG. 4) on the one ofthe surfaces of the first wafer 50 in the first embodiment. Morespecifically, first, a seed layer for plating is formed on the mediumfacing layer 21B by sputtering. The seed layer has-a thickness of 50 nm,for example. On the seed layer, a frame to be used for forming anetching mask by frame plating is formed by photolithography. Through theuse of the frame, a metal etching mask is formed by frame plating. Theetching mask may be made of NiFe, for example. Using the etching mask,the medium facing layer 21B is dry-etched to form the third surface 36for the medium facing layer 21B. For example, reactive ion etching isused to etch the medium facing layer 21B. In this case, the reactive gasis typically produced by adding a mixture gas of O₂, N₂, Ar, He, and H₂to a halogen-based gas such as Cl₂, BCl₃, CF₄, SF₆, and CH₃. Thetemperature during the etching is at least 50° C., and specifically 160°C., for example.

[0273] The other steps in the manufacturing method for the firstmodified example are the same as those for the slider 20 shown in FIG.40.

[0274]FIG. 49 is a perspective view of the slider 20 according to asecond modified example. In the slider 20, the first medium facingsurface 31 includes a plurality of recesses 38 formed in regionsincluding the border portions 35. The slider 20 of the second modifiedexample is otherwise configured the same as the slider 20 shown in FIG.40.

[0275] The recesses 38 are formed by etching the protection layer 74 orthe first wafer 50. The other steps in the manufacturing method for thesecond modified example are the same as those for the slider 20 shown inFIG. 40.

[0276] In the slider 20 of the second modified example, the slidersection 21 is in contact with the surface of the recording medium 45 atthe border portions 35 regardless of whether the recording medium 45 isrotating or at rest. Regardless of whether the recording medium 45 isrotating or at rest, each second surface 34 of the first medium facingsurface 31 slants against the surface of the recording medium 45 suchthat the smaller the distance between a point in the second surface 34and the air inflow end 41, the greater the distance between the point inthe second surface 34 and the recording medium 45. In either case wherethe recording medium 45 is rotating or at rest, the first surfaces 33 ofthe first medium facing surface 31 may be in contact with the surface ofthe recording medium 45 or slant against the surface of the recordingmedium 45 such that the smaller the distance between a point in thefirst surface 33 and the air outflow end 42, the greater the distancebetween the point in the first surface 33 and the recording medium 45.

[0277] Since the slider 20 of the second modified example is in contactwith the surface of the recording medium 45 even while the recordingmedium 45 is rotating, a greater reduction in magnetic space isachieved. Furthermore, -according to the slider 20 of the secondmodified example, since the slider section 21 is always in contact withthe surface of the recording medium 45, it is possible to preventoccurrence of a collision between the slider section 21 and therecording medium 45 which could be caused by the slider section 21coming into contact with and getting away from the surface of therecording medium 45.

[0278] In the slider 20 of the second modified example, the first mediumfacing surface 31 includes a plurality of recesses 38 formed in regionsincluding the border portions 35. Accordingly, the area of the slidersection 21; contacting the surface of the recording medium 45 is smallerthan in the case where no recesses 38 are provided. Frictionalresistance between the slider section 21 and the surface of therecording medium 45 is thereby reduced.

[0279]FIG. 50 is a side view of the slider 20 according to a thirdmodified example. In the slider 20 of the third modified example, asshown in FIG. 50, the slider section 21 is in contact with the surfaceof the recording medium 45 regardless of whether the recording medium 45is rotating or at rest.

[0280] In the slider 20 of the third modified example, the second mediumfacing surface 32 is located farther from the recording medium 45 thanthe first surfaces 33 of the first medium facing surface 31. Thedifference in level between the second medium facing surface 32 and thefirst surfaces 33 of the first medium facing surface 31 is about 3 to 4nm. In the third modified example, this difference in level is utilizedto reduce the magnetic space. The slider 20 of the third modifiedexample is otherwise configured the same as the slider 20 shown in FIG.40.

[0281] The difference in level between the second medium facing surface32 and the first surfaces 33 of the first medium facing surface 31occurs in the step shown in FIG. 43, that is, the step of lapping thefirst and second medium facing surfaces 31 and 32, because of thedifference in hardness between the first wafer 50 and the insulatingportion 25. The other steps in the manufacturing method for the thirdmodified example are the same as those for the slider 20 shown in FIG.40.

[0282] In the slider 20 of the third modified example, the first mediumfacing surface 31 may include a plurality of recesses 38 formed inregions including the border portions 35, like the second modifiedexample.

[0283] While the recording medium 45 is rotating, the slider 20 of thethird modified example makes contact with the surface of the recordingmedium 45 at the first surfaces 33 and the border portions 35 of thefirst medium facing surface 31. In this state, the distance between thesecond medium facing surface 32 and the surface of the recording medium45 is about 3 to 4 nm. Thus, a significant reduction in magnetic spacecan be achieved with the slider 20 of the third modified example.

[0284] According to the slider 20 of the third modified example, sincethe second medium facing surface 32 does not contact the surface ofrecording medium 45, the thin-film magnetic head element 23 is kept awayfrom the surface of the recording medium 45 although the magnetic spaceis reduced significantly as mentioned above. As a result, it is possibleto prevent damage to the thin-film magnetic head element 23 and therecording medium 45 which could be caused by contact between thethin-film magnetic head element 23 and the recording medium 45.

[0285] The remainder of the configuration, functions and effects of thepresent embodiment are the same as those of the first embodiment.

FOURTH EMBODIMENT

[0286] Description will now be given of a slider according to a fourthembodiment and a manufacturing method thereof. FIG. 51 is a perspectiveview of the slider 20 according to the embodiment. In the slider 20, theslider section 21 includes the substrate portion 21A and the mediumfacing layer 21B placed on the substrate portion 21A. The first mediumfacing surface 31 is formed on the medium facing layer 21B. Theelement-section 22 has the insulating portion 25 surrounding thethin-film magnetic head element 23. Relationship among the hardnesses ofthe substrate portion 21A, the medium facing layer 21B and theinsulating portion 25 is as described in the second embodiment.

[0287] The first medium facing surface 31 has first surfaces 33 closerto the element section 22, second surfaces 34 closer to the air inflowend 41, and border portions 35 each located between the first and secondsurfaces 33 and 34. The first surfaces 33 includes two portions disposednear the sidewalls of the slider section 21 along the width thereof, anda portion disposed near the end of the slider section 21 closer to theelement section 22. The second surfaces 34 includes two portionsdisposed near the sidewalls of the slider section 21 along the widththereof, the two portions extending in the direction of air passage andbeing connected to the two portions of the first surfaces 33.

[0288] The first medium facing surface 31 further has a third surface 39and a fourth surface 40 that are provided between the two portions ofthe second surfaces 34. The third surface 39 is disposed near the airinflow end 41. The second and third surfaces 34 and 39 have a firstdifference in level such that the third surface 39 is located fartherfrom the recording medium than the second surfaces 34 are. The fourthsurface 40 is located closer to the element section 22 than the thirdsurface 39 is. The secondhand fourth surfaces 34 and 40 have a seconddifference in level such that the fourth surface 40 is located fartherfrom the recording medium than the second surfaces 34 are. The seconddifference in level is greater than the first difference in level.

[0289] Each second surface 34 is slanted against the first surface 33such that the first and second surfaces 33 and 34 make a convex shape(roof-like shape) bent at the border portion 35. The first and secondsurfaces 33 and 34 preferably form an angle of 30° or smaller. It isalso preferable that the angle formed between the first and secondsurfaces 33 and 34 does not fall below 0.1°.

[0290] In the first medium facing surface 31, the length from eachborder portion 35 to the end of the medium facing surface 31 closer tothe element section 22 is preferably 50% or less of the length from theend thereof closer to the element section 22 to the air inflow end 41.

[0291] The slider 20 according to the embodiment is otherwise configuredthe same as in the first embodiment.

[0292] A method of manufacturing the slider 20 according to theembodiment will now be described. The method includes the steps ofproducing the slider section 21, producing the element section 22separately from the slider section 21, and bonding the slider section 21and the element section 22 to each other. The method further includes,after the step of bonding the slider section 21 and the element section22 to each other, the step of lapping the first medium facing surface 31so as to allow the first medium facing surface 31 to have the firstsurfaces 33 closer to the element section 22, the second surfaces 34closer to the air inflow end 41, and the border portions 35 locatedbetween the first and second surfaces 33 and 34, and to allow the secondsurfaces 34 to slant against the first surfaces 33 such that the firstand second surfaces 33 and 34 make a convex shape (roof-like shape)bent-at the border portion 35. In this embodiment, the step of producingthe element section 22 is the same as that in the first embodiment.

[0293] The step of producing the slider section 21 will now bedescribed. Here, the second slider section aggregate. 51B is formedthrough the same steps as in the second embodiment. The shape of thesecond slider section aggregate 51B at this point is indicated by thedotted line in FIG. 52. At this point, the first medium facing surfaces31 each including a surface 34A, the third surface 39 and the fourthsurface 40 are formed for the second slider section aggregate 51B. Thesurfaces 34A, 39 and 40 correspond to the surfaces 31 a, 31 b, and 31 c,respectively, of the second embodiment.

[0294] In the step of producing the slider section 21, as shown in FIG.52, an end face of the second slider section aggregate 51B to be buttedagainst the element section aggregate 61B is lapped to form a surface72A to be bonded to the element section aggregate 61B. The surface 72Ais formed to make an angle of less than 90° with the surface 34A, andalso to make an angle of 0.1° to 30° with the end face before thelapping. Here, by way of example, the surface 72A is formed to make anangle of 0.5° to 1.0° with the end face before the lapping.

[0295] In the step of producing the slider section 21, another end faceof the second slider section aggregate 51B that is opposite to thesurface 34A may be lapped to form a surface 72B perpendicular to thesurface 72A. Further, in the step of producing the slider section 21,another end face of the second slider section aggregate 51B opposite tothe surface 72A may be lapped to form a surface 72C parallel to thesurface 72A.

[0296] The step of bonding the slider section 21 and the element section22 to each other will now be described. In this step, as shown in FIG.53, the second element section aggregate 61B is bonded to the surface72A of the second slider section aggregate 51B using the adhesive 73,thereby producing the slider aggregate 70 including a plurality of thesliders 20 arranged in a row as shown in FIG. 19. At this point, asshown in FIG. 53, the surface 34A of the slider section 21 is slantedwith respect to the second medium facing surface 32 of the elementsection 22 at an angle of 0.1° to 30°, more specifically at an angle of0.5° to 1.0°, for example.

[0297] The step-of lapping the first medium facing surface 31 will nowbe described. In this step, the first and second medium facing surfaces31 and 32 are lapped while the MR heights and throat heights of aplurality of the element sections 22 in the slider aggregate 70 arecontrolled to obtain target values. Thus, as shown in FIG. 54, part ofthe surface 34A of the slider section 21, the part being adjacent to theelement section 22, is lapped together with the second medium facingsurface 32 to thereby form the first surface 33 of the first mediumfacing surface 31. The untapped part of the surface 34A makes the secondsurface 34 of the first medium facing surface 31.

[0298] Then, as shown in FIG. 55, the protection layer 74 is formed tocover the first and second medium facing surfaces 31 and 32 of theslider aggregate 70. Finally, the slider aggregate 70 is cut into aplurality of the sliders 20 separated from one another.

[0299]FIGS. 56 and 57 are perspective views each showing an example ofthe appearance of the slider according to the embodiment. In FIGS. 56and 57, the first and second medium facing surfaces 31 and 32 are shownin phantom to be seen through the slider section 21 and the elementsection 22 for easy understanding. FIG. 56 shows the case where thesurface 72B is formed in the step shown in FIG. 52 while the surface 72Cis not formed. FIG. 57 shows the case where neither of the surfaces 72Band 72C is formed in the step shown in FIG. 52.

[0300] Reference is now made to FIGS. 58 and 59 to describe thefunctions and effects of the slider 20 according to the embodiment. FIG.58 is a side view showing a state of the slider 20 while the recordingmedium 45 is rotating. FIG. 59 is a side view showing a state of theslider 20 while the recording medium 45 is at rest.

[0301] As shown in FIG. 58, while the recording medium 45 is rotating,the slider section 21 flies by means of the airflow generated by therotation of the recording medium 45 and is off the surface of therecording medium 45. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 59, the slidersection 21 is in contact with the surface of the recording medium 45while the recording medium 45 is at rest.

[0302] As shown in FIG. 58, while the recording medium 45 is rotating,each second surface 34 of the first medium facing surface 31 slantsagainst the surface of the recording medium 45 such that the smaller thedistance between a point in the second surface 34 and the air inflow end41, the greater the distance between the point in the second surface 34and the recording medium 45. While the recording medium 45 is rotating,the first surfaces 33 of the first medium facing surface 31 and thesecond medium facing surface 32 are almost parallel to the surface ofthe recording medium 45. While the recording medium 45 is rotating, eachsecond surface 34 preferably forms an angle of 0.1° to 30° with respectto the surface of the recording medium 45. The angle that the secondsurfaces 34 form with the surface of the recording medium 45 while therecording medium 45 is rotating can be controlled according to the shapeof the concavities and convexities of the first medium facing surface31.

[0303] In the embodiment, when the recording medium 45 shifts from therotating state to the resting state and the slider section 21 comes intocontact with the surface of the recording medium 45, the border portions35 are the first to make contact with the surface of the recordingmedium 45. When the recording medium 45 shifts from the resting state tothe rotating state and the slider section 21 takes off from the surfaceof the recording medium 45, the border portions 35 are the last todepart from the surface of the recording medium 45. Thus, the borderportions 35 function like a wheel of an aircraft.

[0304] As described above, the slider 20 of the embodiment makes contactwith the surface of the recording medium 45 at the border portions 35 ofthe slider section 21. Therefore, as compared with conventional sliders,the area of the slider section 21 contacting the surface of therecording medium 45 is extremely smaller, yielding an extreme reductionin the frictional resistance between the slider section 21 and thesurface of the recording medium 45. Therefore, according to the slider20 of the embodiment, the initial contact of the slider section 21 withthe surface of the recording medium 45 and the separation of the slidersection 21 from the surface of the recording medium 45 can be performedsmoothly. As a result, it is possible to prevent occurrence of damage tothe recording medium 45 and the thin-film magnetic head element 23 dueto a collision between the slider 20 and the recording medium 45.

[0305] In the slider 20 of the embodiment, the area of the slidersection 21 contacting the surface of the recording medium 45 when it isat rest is extremely smaller than in conventional sliders. It istherefore possible to prevent the slider 20 from sticking to therecording medium 45.

[0306] According to the slider 20 of the embodiment, as shown in FIG.58, during the rotation of the recording medium 45 each of the secondsurfaces 34 of the first medium facing surface 31 slants against thesurface of the recording medium 45 such that the smaller the distancebetween a point in the second surface 34 and the air inflow end 41, thegreater the distance between the point in the second surface 34 and therecording medium 45. As a result, the thin-film magnetic head element 23gets closer to the surface of the recording medium 45. Thus, accordingto the slider 20 of the embodiment, during the rotation of the recordingmedium 45, the thin-film magnetic head element 23 is allowed to be closeto the surface of the recording medium 45 while the second surfaces 34are kept farther from the recording medium 45 than the thin-filmmagnetic head element 23. Therefore, the embodiment makes it possible toattain a greater reduction in magnetic space while avoiding a collisionbetween the slider 20 and the recording medium 45.

[0307] As has been described, the slider 20 of the embodiment makes itpossible to reduce the magnetic space. Furthermore, it is possible toprevent the slider 20 from sticking to the recording medium 45, and toprevent damage to the recording medium 45 and the thin-film magnetichead element 23 due to a collision between the slider 20 and therecording medium 45.

[0308] According to the embodiment, as a result of, reduction in themagnetic space, it is possible to improve the reproducing output andreduce the half width of the reproducing head of the thin-film magnetichead element 23, thereby increasing the recording density. Furthermore,as a result of reduction in the magnetic space, it is also possible toimprove the overwrite property and nonlinear transition shift of therecording head of the thin-film magnetic head element 23.

[0309] The embodiment thus makes it possible to improve thecharacteristics of both the reproducing head and the recording head ofthe thin-film magnetic head element 23. As a result, it is possible toimprove the yield of hard disk drives that implement the slider 20 ofthe embodiment.

[0310]FIG. 60 is a perspective view of the slider 20 of a modifiedexample of the embodiment. In this slider 20, the slider section 21 isnot divided into the substrate portion 21A and the medium facing layer21B. The modified example is otherwise configured the same as the slider20 shown in FIG. 51.

[0311] In this embodiment, the first medium facing surface 31 mayinclude a plurality of recesses 38 formed in regions including theborder portions 35, as in the second modified example of the thirdembodiment.

[0312] In this embodiment, as in the third modified example of the thirdembodiment, the second medium facing surface 32 may be located fartherfrom the recording medium 45 than the first surfaces 33 of the firstmedium facing surface 31. In addition, the first surfaces 33 and theborder portions 35 of the first medium facing surface 31 may be incontact with the surface of the recording medium 45 while the recordingmedium 45 is rotating.

[0313] The remainder of the configuration, functions and effects of thepresent embodiment are the same as those of the second embodiment.

FIFTH EMBODIMENT

[0314] Description will now be given of a slider according to a fifthembodiment of the invention and a manufacturing method thereof. FIGS. 61and 62 are perspective views each showing an example of the appearanceof the slider according to the embodiment. In FIGS. 61 and 62, the firstand second medium facing surfaces 31 and 32 are shown in phantom to beseen through the slider section 21 and the element section 22 for easyunderstanding.

[0315] The slider 20 of this embodiment is configured the same as thatof the fourth embodiment, except for the configuration of the elementsection 22. The manufacturing method for the slider 20 of thisembodiment includes the same steps as those for of the fourth embodimentexcept for the step of producing the element section 22 and the step ofbonding the slider section 21 and the element section 22 to each other.

[0316] The configuration and producing method of the slider section 21of the slider 20 shown in FIG. 61 are the same as those of the slidersection 21 shown in FIG. 56. The configuration and producing method ofthe slider section 21 of the slider 20 shown in FIG. 62 are the same asthose of the slider section 21 shown in FIG. 57.

[0317] The configuration of the element section 22, the step ofproducing the element section 22 and the step of bonding the slidersection 21 and the element section 22 to each other according to theembodiment will now be detailed. As shown in FIGS. 61 and 62, theelement section 22 of the embodiment includes: the substrate portion 24serving as an underlying base for the thin-film magnetic head element23; and the insulating portion 25 surrounding the thin-film magnetichead element 23. The thin-film magnetic head element 23 has a recordinghead (induction-type electromagnetic transducer) and a reproducing headincluding an MR element. The substrate portion 24 is made of aluminumoxide and titanium carbide, for example. The insulating portion 25 ismade mainly of alumina, for example. The substrate portion 24 is notnecessarily required, however.

[0318] In the element section 22 of the embodiment, conversely to thefirst to fourth embodiments, the recording head (induction-typeelectromagnetic transducer) and the reproducing head including the MRelement are provided in this order on the substrate portion 24. In theelement section 22.of the embodiment, the insulating portion 25 isbonded to the slider section 21 so that the reproducing head is locatedcloser to the slider section 21 than the recording head. Electrode padsconnected to the thin-film magnetic head element 23 are provided on thesurface of the substrate portion 24 opposite to the insulating portion25.

[0319] In the step of producing the element section 22 of theembodiment, conversely to the first to fourth embodiments, the recordinghead (induction-type electromagnetic transducer) and the reproducinghead including the MR element are formed in this order on a surface ofthe second wafer 60.

[0320] Reference is now made to FIGS. 63 and 64 to describe aconfiguration of the thin-film magnetic head element 23 and a formingmethod thereof. FIGS. 63 and 64 are sectional views of the thin-filmmagnetic head element 23. FIG. 63 shows a section orthogonal to thesecond medium facing surface 32 and the top surface of the second wafer60, while FIG. 64 shows a section parallel to the second medium facingsurface 32. In FIG. 63, the dotted line with reference numeral 80indicates the position where the second medium facing surface 32 isformed in a later step.

[0321] In the method of manufacturing the thin-film magnetic headelement 23 shown in FIGS. 63 and 64, an insulating layer 81 of alumina,for example, is first formed on the second wafer 60. On the insulatinglayer 81, a yoke portion layer 82 a of a magnetic material is formedinto a specific shape. Then, an insulating layer 83 made of alumina, forexample, is formed to cover the entire surface. The insulating layer 83is polished by chemical mechanical polishing (CMP), for example, so thatthe yoke portion layer 82 a is exposed.

[0322] Then, a pole portion layer 82 b of a magnetic material is formedon the yoke portion layer 82 a and the insulating layer 83, and amagnetic layer 82 c of a magnetic material is formed on the yoke portionlayer 82 a. The pole portion layer 82 b is provided in a positionincluding the position where the second medium facing surface 32 is tobe formed. The magnetic layer 82 c is provided in a position which is tobe the inside of the winding of a thin-film coil to be formed later. Theyoke portion layer 82 a, the pole portion layer 82 b and the magneticlayer 82 c make up a bottom pole layer 82.

[0323] Then, an insulating layer 84 made of alumina, for example, isformed on the yoke portion layer 82 a in a region where the thin-filmcoil is to be formed. The thin-film coil 85 of copper, for example, isformed on the insulating layer 84. Then, an insulating layer 86 isformed to fill the spaces between the windings of the thin-film coil 85.The insulating layer 86 may be, for example, a resist layer or aspin-on-glass (SOG) film of coating glass.

[0324] Then, an insulating layer 87 made of alumina, for example, isformed to cover the entire surface. The insulating layer 87 is polishedby chemical mechanical polishing (CMP), for example, so that the poleportion layer 82 b and the magnetic layer 82 c are exposed.

[0325] On the insulating layer 87 and the pole portion layer 82 b, aninsulating layer 88 made of alumina, for example, is formed for definingthroat height. A recording gap layer 89 is then formed over the entiresurface. A portion of the recording gap layer 89 located on top of themagnetic layer 82 c is etched to form a contact hole 89 a for making amagnetic path. Then, a top pole layer 90 of a magnetic material isformed to extend from top of the pole portion layer 82 b to the positionof the contact hole 89 a. The top pole layer 90 is magneticallyconnected to the magnetic layer 82 c through the contact hole 89 a. Themagnetic pole portion of the top pole layer 90 (the portion opposed tothe pole portion layer 82 b with the recording gap layer 89 in between)defines the track width of the recording head.

[0326] The recording gap layer 89 is dry-etched using the magnetic poleportion of the top pole layer 90 as a mask. Further, the pole portionlayer 82 b is etched partially. A trim structure shown in FIG. 64 isthereby obtained. The etching of the pole portion layer 82 b isperformed such that the top surface of the etched portion of the poleportion layer 82 b is located higher than the top surface of thethin-film coil 85. By etching the pole portion layer 82 b as describedabove, it becomes possible to prevent occurrence of insulation defectsin the insulating layer 87 covering the thin-film coil 85. Then, aninsulating layer 91 made of alumina, for example, is formed on theentire surface, and the top surface thereof is flattened typically bychemical mechanical polishing.

[0327] On the insulating layer 91, a bottom shield layer 92 of amagnetic material is formed. Then, a bottom shield gap film 93 of aninsulating material such as alumina is formed on the bottom shield layer92. An MR element 94 for reproduction is then formed on the bottomshield gap film 93. A pair of electrode layers 95 are then formed on thebottom shield gap film 93. The electrode layers 95 are electricallyconnected to the MR element 94. Then, a top shield gap film 96 of aninsulating material such as alumina is formed on the bottom shield gapfilm 93, the MR element 94, and the electrode layers 95. The. MR element94 is embedded in the shield gap films 93 and 96.

[0328] The MR element 94 may be an element utilizing a magnetosensitivefilm that exhibits magnetoresistivity, such as an AMR element, a GMRelement or a tunnel magnetoresistive (TMR) element.

[0329] A top shield layer 97 of a magnetic material is then formed onthe top shield gap film 96. An overcoat layer 98 made of alumina, forexample, is formed on the top shield layer 97.

[0330] As necessary, with the support plate 63 bonded onto the overcoatlayer 98, the bottom surface of the second wafer 60 may be lapped tothereby remove at least part of the second wafer 60. Finally, electrodepads to be connected to the thin-film magnetic head element 23 areformed on the bottom surface of the second wafer 60 or the bottomsurface of the insulating layer 81. The second wafer 60 is to become thesubstrate portion 24 shown in FIGS. 61 and 62. The greater part of theinsulating portion 25 shown in FIGS. 61 and 62 is the overcoat layer 98.

[0331] The thin-film magnetic head element 23 comprises a reproducinghead and a recording head (induction-type electromagnetic transducer).The reproducing head includes the MR element 94 for magnetic signaldetection, and the bottom shield layer 92 and the top shield layer 97for shielding the MR element 94. Portions of the bottom shield layer 92and the top shield layer 97 on a side of the second medium facingsurface 32 are opposed to each other, with the MR element 94 interposedbetween these portions of the bottom and top shield layers 92 and 97.

[0332] The recording head includes the bottom pole layer 82 and the toppole layer 90 magnetically coupled to each other and including magneticpole portions that are opposed to each other and located in regions on aside of the second medium facing surface 32. The recording head furtherincludes: the recording gap layer 89 provided between the magnetic poleportion of the bottom pole layer 82 and the magnetic pole portion of thetop pole layer 90; and the thin-film coil 85 at least part of which isdisposed between the bottom pole layer 82 and the top pole layer 90 andinsulated from the bottom and top pole layers 82 and 90.

[0333] The effect of the slider 20 according to the embodiment will nowbe described. In the step of producing the element section 22 of theembodiment, the recording head (induction-type electromagnetictransducer) and the reproducing head including the MR element 94 areformed in this order on one of the surfaces of the second wafer. 60.According to the embodiment, the process up to the step of forming thethin-film coil 85 may be common for reproducing heads having differenttrack widths and recording heads having different throat heights anddifferent track widths. In the process of forming the thin-film magnetichead element 23, the time required for the steps following the formationof the thin-film coil 85 is relatively short.

[0334] Many customers of thin-film magnetic heads order the track widthof a reproducing head and the throat height and the track width of arecording head that suit their own products. However, if thin-filmmagnetic heads that meet the specifications required by a customer aremanufactured after an order is received, it would be difficult to supplythe products in a short time after the receipt of the order.

[0335] According to the embodiment, half-finished products having gonethrough the manufacturing steps as far as the step of forming thethin-film coil 85 of the thin-film magnetic head element 23 may bemass-produced in advance to keep a good stock. Then, upon and inaccordance with requests from customers, the remaining part of thethin-film magnetic head elements 23 may be formed to complete thethin-film magnetic head element 23. Therefore, according to theembodiment, it is possible to supply the sliders 20 having the thin-filmmagnetic head element 23 that meets the specifications required by eachcustomer in a short time after receipt of an order. In addition, thehalf-finished products may be checked for defects, and only those withno defects may be used to produce the sliders 20. As a result, accordingto the embodiment, the yield of the sliders 20 can be improved.

[0336] To form a reproducing head and a recording head in this order onone surface of the wafer as the conventional technique, a number ofsteps are performed after forming an MR element. Therefore, in thiscase, the MR element could be destroyed due to electrostatic dischargein the steps following the formation of the MR element. In contrast,according to the embodiment, the recording head and the reproducing headare formed in this order on one of the surfaces of the second wafer 60,so that the number of steps after the formation of the MR element 94 issmall. It is therefore possible to prevent the MR element 94 from beingdestroyed with electrostatic discharge.

[0337] Meanwhile, a problem as described below arises in the case wherethe sliders are manufactured through the steps of: forming the recordinghead and the reproducing head in this order on one surface of the wafer;cutting the wafer into bars; forming the medium facing surfaces for eachbar; and cutting the bar into individual sliders. In this case, ascompared with the conventional case of forming the reproducing head andthe recording head in this order on one surface of the wafer, thepositional relationship between the reproducing head and the recordinghead is reversed in the resulting slider. Then, the recording andreproducing operations in a hard disk drive become different from theconventional operations.

[0338] To cope with this, according to the embodiment, the slidersection 21 and the element section 22 are separately formed and thenbonded to each other to complete the slider 20. In the step of bonding,the element section 22 is bonded to the slider section 21 such that thereproducing head is positioned closer to the slider section 21 than therecording head. As a result, according to the embodiment, while therecording head and the reproducing head are formed in this order on onesurface of the second wafer 60 as described above, the positionalrelationship between the reproducing and recording heads in the slider20 remains the same as that in the conventional sliders.

[0339] Thus, the embodiment makes it possible to provide the sliders 20that meet the specifications required by customers in a short time, andto improve the yield of the sliders 20, with the positional relationshipbetween the reproducing and recording heads in the slider 20 unchangedfrom that in the conventional sliders.

[0340] The element section 22 of the present embodiment may be used inplace of the element section 22 of the first to third embodiments.

[0341] The remainder of the configuration, functions and effects of thepresent embodiment are the same as those of the first to fourthembodiments.

[0342] The present invention is not limited to the foregoing embodimentsbut may be practiced in still other ways. For example, the invention maybe applied to a thin-film magnetic head dedicated to reading that has noinduction-type electromagnetic transducer, a thin-film magnetic headdedicated to writing that has an induction-type electromagnetictransducer only, or a thin-film magnetic head that performs reading andwriting with an induction-type electromagnetic transducer.

[0343] As in the foregoing, the slider of the thin-film magnetic headaccording to the invention comprises the slider section having the firstmedium facing surface and the air inflow end, and the element sectionhaving the second medium facing surface, the air outflow end and thethin-film magnetic head element. The slider section and the elementsection are bonded to each other to complete the slider. Thus, accordingto the invention, it is possible to mass-produce the slider section andthe element section separately at a time. As a result, it is possible tomanufacture the slider through a small number of manufacturing steps.

[0344] In the slider of a thin-film magnetic head of the invention, theslider section may have a substrate portion and a medium facing layerplaced on the substrate portion, the first medium facing surface may beformed on the medium facing layer, the element section may have aninsulating portion surrounding the thin-film magnetic head element, thesubstrate portion may have a hardness greater than that of theinsulating portion, and, as the substrate portion and the medium facinglayer are compared in hardness, the hardness of the medium facing layermay be closer to the hardness of the insulating portion. In this case,it is possible to prevent development of a difference in level betweenthe first and second medium facing surfaces when they are lapped at thesame time. As a result, the slider is allowed to fly lower.

[0345] In the slider of a thin-film magnetic head of the invention, thefirst medium facing surface may have a first surface closer to theelement section, a second surface closer to the air inflow end, and aborder portion located between the first and second surfaces. The secondsurface may be slanted against the first surface such that the first andsecond surfaces make a convex shape bent at the border portion. In thiscase, when the slider section comes into contact with the surface of therecording medium, the border portion makes the contact with the surfaceof the recording medium. As a result, it is possible to prevent theslider from sticking to the recording medium and to prevent a damage tothe recording medium and the thin-film magnetic head element due to acollision between the slider and the recording medium, while attaining areduction in magnetic space. Furthermore, since the slidersection/element section joint portion of the slider does not contact thesurface of the recording medium, it is possible to prevent breakage ofthe slider which could be caused by an external force applied by therecording medium to the slider section/element section joint portion ofthe slider.

[0346] According to the method of manufacturing a slider of theinvention, the slider section having the first medium facing surface andthe air inflow end, and the element section having the second mediumfacing surface, the air outflow end and the thin-film magnetic headelement, are produced separately and are bonded to each other tocomplete the slider. Thus, according to the invention, it is possible tomass-produce the slider section and the element section separately at atime. As a result, it is possible to manufacture the slider through asmall number of manufacturing steps.

[0347] In the method of manufacturing the slider of the invention, theslider section may have a substrate portion and a medium facing layerplaced on the substrate portion, the first medium facing surface may beformed on the medium facing layer, the element section may have aninsulating portion surrounding the thin-film magnetic head element, thesubstrate portion may have a hardness greater than that of theinsulating portion, and, as the substrate portion and the medium facinglayer are compared in hardness, the hardness of the medium facing layermay be closer to the hardness of the insulating portion. In this case,it is possible to prevent development of a difference in level betweenthe first and second medium facing surfaces when they are lapped at thesame time. As a result, the slider is allowed to fly lower.

[0348] The method of manufacturing the slider of the invention mayfurther comprise the step of lapping the first and second medium facingsurfaces so as to flatten the first and second surfaces, after the stepof bonding the slider section and the element section to each other. Inthis case, the first and second medium facing surfaces are flattenedeven if precision in the alignment of the slider section and the elementsection is low at the time of bonding these sections.

[0349] The method of manufacturing the slider of the invention mayinclude, after the step of bonding the slider section and the elementsection to each other, the step of lapping the first medium facingsurface so as to allow the first medium facing surface to have a firstsurface closer to the element section, a second surface closer to theair inflow end, and a border portion located between the first andsecond surfaces, and to allow the second surface to slant against thefirst surface such that the first and second surfaces make a convexshape bent at the border portion. In the slider manufactured by thismethod, when the slider section comes into contact with the surface ofthe recording medium, the border portion makes the contact with thesurface of the recording medium. As a result, it is possible to preventthe slider from sticking to the recording medium and to prevent damageto the recording medium and the thin-film magnetic head element whichcould be caused by a collision between the slider and the recordingmedium, while attaining a reduction in magnetic space. Furthermore,since the slider section/element section joint portion of the sliderdoes not contact the surface of the recording medium, it is possible toprevent breakage of the slider which could be caused by an externalforce applied by the recording medium to the slider section/elementsection joint portion of the slider.

[0350] In the method of manufacturing the slider of the invention, theinduction-type electromagnetic transducer for recording and themagnetoresistive element for reproduction may be formed in this order onone of surfaces of the wafer in the step of producing the elementsection, and the slider section and the element section may be bonded toeach other such that the magnetoresistive element is disposed closer tothe slider section than the induction-type electromagnetic transducer inthe step of bonding the slider section and the element section to eachother. In this case, part of the induction-type electromagnetictransducer for the thin-film magnetic head element may be formed inadvance, and the remainder of the thin-film magnetic head element may becompleted upon and in accordance with requests from customers. It isthereby possible to provide sliders that meet the specificationsrequired by each customer in a short period of time.

[0351] Obviously many modifications and variations of the presentinvention are possible in the light of the above teachings. It istherefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claimsthe invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.

What is claimed is:
 1. A slider of a thin-film magnetic head comprising:a slider section having a-first medium facing surface that faces towarda rotating recording medium and an air inflow end; and an elementsection having a second medium facing surface that faces toward therecording medium, an air outflow end, and a thin-film magnetic headelement, wherein the first medium facing surface has concavities andconvexities for controlling the orientation of the slider section whilethe recording medium is rotating, and the slider section and the elementsection are bonded to each other such that the air inflow end and theair outflow end are disposed on opposite sides with the first and secondmedium facing surfaces in between.
 2. A slider of a thin-film magnetichead according to claim 1, wherein: the slider section has a substrateportion and a medium facing layer placed on the substrate portion, thefirst medium facing surface is formed on the medium facing layer, theelement section has an insulating portion surrounding the thin-filmmagnetic head element, the substrate portion has a hardness greater thanthat of the insulating portion, and as the substrate portion-and themedium facing layer are compared in hardness, the hardness of the mediumfacing layer is closer to the hardness of the insulating portion.
 3. Aslider of a thin-film magnetic head according to claim 1, wherein thefirst medium facing surface has a first surface closer to the elementsection, a second surface closer to the air inflow end, and a borderportion located between the first and second surfaces, wherein thesecond surface is slanted against the first surface such that the firstand second surfaces make a convex shape bent at the border portion.
 4. Aslider of a thin-film magnetic head according to claim 3, wherein, whilethe recording medium is rotating, the second surface slants against thesurface of the recording medium such that the air inflow end is fartherfrom the recording medium than the border portion is.
 5. A slider of athin-film magnetic head according to claim 4, wherein the second surfaceand the surface of the recording medium form an angle of 30° or smallerwhile the recording medium is rotating.
 6. A slider of athin-film-magnetic head according to claim 3, wherein the slider sectionis in contact with the surface of the recording medium while therecording medium is at rest, and stays away from the surface of therecording medium while the recording medium is rotating.
 7. A slider ofa thin-film magnetic head according to claim 6, wherein, when the slidersection comes into contact with the surface of the recording medium, theborder portion is the first to make contact with the surface of therecording medium.
 8. A slider of a thin-film magnetic head according toclaim 6, wherein, when the slider section takes off from the surface ofthe recording medium, the border portion is the last to depart from thesurface of the recording medium.
 9. A slider of a thin-film magnetichead according to claim 3, wherein, regardless of whether the recordingmedium is rotating or at rest, the slider section is in contact with thesurface of the recording medium at the border portion, and the firstsurface and the second surface slant against the surface of therecording medium such that the element section and the air inflow endare off the recording medium.
 10. A slider of a thin-film magnetic headaccording to claim 3, wherein the first surface and the second surfaceform an angle of 30° or smaller.
 11. A slider of a thin-film magnetichead according to claim 3, wherein the first medium facing surface has arecess formed in a region including the border portion.
 12. A slider ofa thin-film magnetic head according to claim 3, wherein the secondmedium facing surface is disposed farther from the recording medium thanthe first surface of the first medium facing surface is.
 13. A slider ofa thin-film magnetic head according to claim 1, wherein the thin-filmmagnetic head element comprises a magnetoresistive element forreproduction and an induction-type electromagnetic transducer forrecording, the electromagnetic transducer being disposed farther fromthe slider section than the magnetoresistive element is.
 14. A method ofmanufacturing a slider of a thin-film magnetic head, the slidercomprising: a slider section having a first medium facing surface thatfaces toward a rotating recording medium and an air inflow end; and anelement section having a second medium facing surface that faces towardthe recording medium, an air outflow end, and a thin-film magnetic headelement, wherein the first medium facing surface has concavities andconvexities for controlling the orientation of the slider section whilethe recording medium is rotating, and the slider section and the elementsection are bonded to each other such that the air inflow end and theair outflow end are disposed on opposite sides with the first and secondmedium facing surfaces in between, the method comprising-the steps of:producing the slider section; producing the element section separatelyfrom the slider section; and bonding the slider section and the elementsection to each other.
 15. A method of manufacturing a slider of athin-film magnetic head according to claim 14, wherein the step ofproducing the slider section includes the step of forming a plurality ofthe first medium facing surfaces corresponding to a plurality of theslider sections for a first wafer, and the step of producing the elementsection includes the step of forming a plurality of the thin-filmmagnetic head elements on a second wafer.
 16. A method of manufacturinga slider of a thin-film magnetic head according to claim 14, wherein:the step of producing the slider section includes the steps of: forminga plurality of the first medium facing surfaces corresponding to aplurality of the slider sections for a first wafer to thereby form afirst slider section aggregate including a plurality of the slidersections arranged in a plurality of rows; and cutting the first slidersection aggregate to thereby form a second slider section aggregatesincluding a plurality of the slider sections arranged in a row; the stepof producing the element section includes the steps of: forming aplurality of the thin-film magnetic head elements on a second wafer tothereby form a first element section aggregate including a plurality ofthe element sections arranged in a plurality of rows; and cutting thefirst element section aggregate to thereby form a second element sectionaggregate including a plurality of the element sections arranged in arow; and the step of bonding the slider section and the element sectionto each other includes the step of bonding the second slider sectionaggregate and the second element section aggregate to each other tothereby produce a slider aggregate including a plurality of the slidersarranged in a row, the method further comprising the step of cutting theslider aggregate into a plurality of the sliders separated from oneanother.
 17. A method of manufacturing a slider of a thin-film magnetichead according to claim 14, wherein: the slider section has a substrateportion and a medium facing layer placed on the substrate portion, theelement section has an insulating portion surrounding the thin-filmmagnetic head element, the substrate portion has a hardness greater thanthat of the insulating portion, the hardness of the medium facing layeris closer to the hardness of the insulating portion as the substrateportion and the medium facing layer are compared in hardness, and thefirst medium facing surface is formed on the medium facing layer in thestep of producing the slider section.
 18. A method of manufacturing aslider of a thin-film magnetic head according to claim 14, furthercomprising the step of lapping the first and second medium facingsurfaces so as to flatten the first and second surfaces, after the stepof bonding the slider section and the element section to each other. 19.A method of manufacturing a slider of a thin-film magnetic headaccording to claim 14, further comprising, after the step of bonding theslider section and the element section to each other, the step oflapping the first medium facing surface so as to allow the first mediumfacing surface to have a first surface closer to the element section, asecond surface closer to the air inflow end, and a border portionlocated between the first and second surfaces, and to allow the secondsurface to slant against the first surface such that the first andsecond surfaces make a convex shape bent at the border portion.
 20. Amethod of manufacturing a slider of a thin-film magnetic head accordingto claim 19, wherein the first surface and the second surface form anangle of 30° or smaller.
 21. A method of manufacturing a slider of athin-film magnetic head according to claim 19, further comprising thestep of forming a recess in a region including the border portion in thefirst medium facing surface.
 22. A method of manufacturing a slider of athin-film magnetic head according to claim 19, wherein the second mediumfacing surface is disposed farther from the recording medium than thefirst surface of the first medium facing surface is.
 23. A method ofmanufacturing a slider of a thin-film magnetic head according to claim14, wherein the slider section and the element section are bonded toeach other using a ceramic-based adhesive in the step of bonding theslider section and the element section to each other.
 24. A method ofmanufacturing a slider of a thin-film magnetic head according to claim14, wherein, in the step of bonding the slider section and the elementsection to each other, a thermosetting adhesive is put between theslider section and the element section, and the adhesive is cured byheating at a temperature of 300° C. or less to thereby bond the slidersection and the element section to each other.
 25. A method ofmanufacturing a slider of a thin-film magnetic head according to claim14, wherein the step of producing the element section includes the stepsof: forming a plurality of the thin-film magnetic head elements on oneof surfaces of a wafer; and removing at least part of the wafer bylapping the other one of the surfaces of the wafer.
 26. A method ofmanufacturing a slider of a thin-film magnetic head according to claim25, wherein, in the step of bonding the slider section and the elementsection to each other, a surface formed at the element section by thelapping is bonded to the slider section.
 27. A method of manufacturing aslider of a thin-film magnetic head according to claim 25, wherein, inthe step of bonding the slider section and the element section to eachother, a surface opposite to the surface formed at the element sectionby the lapping is bonded to the slider section.
 28. A method ofmanufacturing a slider of a thin-film magnetic head according to claim25, wherein, in the step of removing at least part of the wafer, theother one of the surfaces of the wafer is lapped with a support plateplaced on a plurality of the thin-film magnetic head elements.
 29. Amethod of manufacturing a slider of a thin-film magnetic head accordingto claim 28, wherein at least part of the support plate, the partincluding the surface facing the thin-film magnetic head elements, hasconductivity.
 30. A method of manufacturing a slider of a thin-filmmagnetic head according to claim 14, wherein the step of producing theslider section includes the steps of: forming an etching mask of metalon one of surfaces of a ceramic substrate; and etching the ceramicsubstrate by dry etching through the use of the etching mask to therebyform the concavities and convexities on the one of the surfaces of theceramic substrate.
 31. A method of manufacturing a slider of a thin-filmmagnetic head according to claim 30, wherein the dry etching is reactiveion etching.
 32. A method of manufacturing a slider of a thin-filmmagnetic head according to claim 14, wherein the step of producing theslider section includes the steps of: forming a first etching mask ofmetal on one of surfaces of a ceramic substrate; etching the ceramicsubstrate by dry etching through the use of the first etching mask tothereby form a first recess in the one of the surfaces of the ceramicsubstrate; forming a second etching mask to cover part of the firstrecess; and etching the ceramic substrate further by dry etching throughthe use of the second etching mask to thereby form a second recessdeeper than the first recess in the one of the surfaces of the ceramicsubstrate.
 33. A method of manufacturing a slider of a thin-filmmagnetic head according to claim 14, wherein a magnetoresistive elementfor reproduction and an induction-type electromagnetic transducer forrecording are formed in this order on one of surfaces of a wafer in thestep of producing the element section, and the slider section and theelement section are bonded to each other such that the magnetoresistiveelement is disposed closer to the slider section than the induction-typeelectromagnetic transducer in the step of bonding the slider section andthe element section to each other.
 34. A method of manufacturing aslider of a thin-film magnetic head according to claim 14, wherein aninduction-type electromagnetic transducer for recording and amagnetoresistive element for reproduction are formed in this order onone of surfaces of a wafer in the step of producing the element section,and the slider section and the element section are bonded to each othersuch that the magnetoresistive element is disposed closer to the slidersection than the induction-type electromagnetic transducer in the stepof bonding the slider section and the element section to each other.